bolt upright
Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew. This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: “She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt” (The Miller's Tale).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use bolt upright in a sentence
Sitting bolt upright for a long flight can leave me near-crippled for days, as I once found out through an unwise seat selection.
And then write articles arguing that other people should sit bolt upright for hours on end in order to make this choice bearable.
Mrs. Ducksmith, who had sat with overwhelmed head in her hands, started bolt upright, and looked at him like one thunderstruck.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. Locke"Stop, my young friend," said Crafty, sitting bolt upright on his haunches.
The Nursery, December 1881, Vol. XXX | VariousAfter listening, for a time, without moving a muscle, he suddenly sat bolt upright and looked round at the player.
The Daughters of Danaus | Mona Caird
Thurstane, sitting bolt upright in his saddle, stared straight before him with a grim frown, meanwhile thinking of Clara.
Overland | John William De ForestThere was, also, the creaking of a bed in another room, and a sound as of some one sitting bolt upright.
The Rival Campers Afloat | Ruel Perley Smith
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