# What does ‘up in arms’ mean?

To “up in arms” means to angrily protesting. Brewer's records this originally as a military expression for being ready to fight; the figurative sense of public indignation followed.

## What it means

- Brewer's records this originally as a military expression for being ready to fight; the figurative sense of public indignation followed.

## Action steps

1. Common in news reporting of protest.
2. Example: Residents are up in arms about the new tax.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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