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Glite Dictionary
to saddle up

to saddle up

8 5.2
Get ready mentally and physically for a long trip or hard task
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈsædəl ʌp/
  • Informal
translation icon : prepararse
  • She took a deep breath, knowing it was time to saddle up for the big meeting at work.
  • let's saddle up
  • saddle up and go
  • saddle up and ride

This guy saddles up and he swear to God, I can't make this up.

Examples

  • Let's saddle up, boys and girls, because we are about to go down a fun little ride.

  • Let's saddle up and move outta here.

    Hell to Eternity (1960)

  • You gotta saddle up and get things under control.

    Michael Clayton (2007)

  • So when do we saddle up?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • - Let's saddle up, Apone.

    Aliens (1986)

  • Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, time to saddle up and ride into the sunset.

  • You heard the man—let's saddle up!

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Saddle up, Dil.

    The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

  • Out front of Pham Van's, nervous Val and Earl saddle up the horses while Pham loads their saddle bags with food.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Before embarking on the long hike, we need to saddle up and ensure we have enough supplies.

Synonyms

to gear up
vsto saddle up
68 3.7

To get ready for an activity by preparing people or equipment

focuses instead on personal mental and physical readiness for a challenge
to buckle up
vsto saddle up
45 3.9

Fasten a seatbelt or get ready for a difficult, exciting time

means more comprehensive long journey mental and physical preparation
to muscle up
vsto saddle up
  • Informal
8.1

Gather the courage to face a hard task

focuses more on full mental and physical preparation for a long journey
to huckle up
vsto saddle up
  • Informal
9.9

Get ready to act with energy and strong focus

emphasizes short energetic readiness rather than long journey planning

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

How Prepared

to set off
57 2.4
to saddle up
  • Informal
8 5.2
to prep
  • Informal
95 3.6
to prepare
∞ 1.0
to plan
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

saddle up infinitive
saddled up past
saddled up past participle
saddling up present participle
saddles up third person singular

Morphology

saddle + up

Literally, 'saddle' (to fit a saddle) plus 'up' suggests putting on a saddle or getting ready to ride, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the concrete, physical sense. However, the broader metaphorical extension to 'prepare for a journey or challenge' is an idiomatic generalization that is not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Saddle up comes from putting a saddle on a horse and getting the horse ready to ride. The image of fastening the saddle and mounting the horse is why it now means 'to get ready' for a trip or a hard task.