stand up guy

Meaning

A loyal and reliable friend.

Origin

The allusion is to someone who would be prepared to stand up and fight on your side if called on, i.e. one who, in the words of the earlier (late 19th century) phrase, would 'stand up and be counted'.

The phrase is American. The earliest citation is in the Pennsylvania newspaper The Charleroi Mail, April 1935:

"But he seems to be a stand up guy and loyalty, with him, seems to be less a virtue than obsession."

475👍 149👎