hang-up

• hangup

hang-up (plural hang-ups)

1. (informal) An emotional difficulty or a psychological inhibition; a complex.

   Synonyms: neurosis, obsession

   • 2013, Nic Fleming, at BBC, Sex Lessons, British Style‎:

     We’re said to have so many hang-ups that we don’t even talk about sex until we’re in the pub, and to need to be blind drunk before anything approaching physical contact occurs.

   • 2021 October 30, Rosanna Greenstreet, quoting Bertie Carvel, “Bertie Carvel: ‘I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body’”, in The Guardian‎:

     I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body. My wife sometimes reminds me that, instead of saying, “I want to be thin”, I could say, “I want to be happy”, which is profoundly good advice.

   • 2022 May 26, Jonathan Jones, “Zombie workers and sexual hang-ups: how Edvard Munch foresaw our lonely lives – review”, in The Guardian‎:

     As if the overpowering sense of grief wasn’t enough, Munch’s art unashamedly confesses to massive sexual hangups.

   • 2022 September 13, Pamela Stephenson Connolly, “How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working”, in The Guardian‎:

     How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working [title]

2. An unforeseen obstacle to progress; a hitch or delay.
   • 1951 (written), Jack Kerouac, On the Road: The Original Scroll, Penguin, published 2008, →OCLC, page 115:

     What a hang up I got into at once! As I look back on it it's incredible that I could have been so damned dumb.

   • 2022 August 14, Adam Morton, “Australia has a steep hill to climb on electric cars – but if ever there was a time, it’s now”, in The Guardian‎:

     Consumers say yes, the numbers add up, industry is largely on board and Labor has no policy hang-ups. This week could be the turning point[.]

• Jonathon Green (2024) “hang-up n.²”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

• uphang