in pugilism, a close-in strike upward with the fist, 1831, from upper + cut (n.). Perhaps the image is of chopping a tree by making cuts up (as well as down) in the trunk.
It was on a side hill, and I observed a boy, who appeared to be about fifteen years of age, opposite the house felling a large tree; he had cut a few chips from the under side, and was then making the principal incision on the upper. ... I said to the boy, "Well Sir, I see that you make the upper cut." "That is the true cut," said the boy; "for if you will take the axe and try below, you will find that the tree will crowd down upon your chips, and you can't get it down in double the time." [Theodore Sedgwick, "Hints to My Countrymen," 1826]
双语例句
1. He was knocked down by an uppercut from Eubank.
他被尤班克一记上钩拳击倒在地。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The main techniques are raise, push, poke, uppercut and strike down.
常见动作有:挑棍 、 推棍 、 戳棍 、 撩棍、劈棍.
来自互联网
3. The boxer was taken down with one swift uppercut to the chin.
