What it means
You say this when something fits someone perfectly, whether that's their taste, skills, hobbies, or whole general vibe. If a mate says a film, plan, job, or shop is right up your street, they mean it's exactly your kind of thing and you'll probably be all over it.
Usage examples
"There’s a cheese and ale tasting in town next week, mate. That’s right up my street, I’m there early, save me a spot at the bar."
"The new gardening podcast about heritage tomatoes is right up your street, three retired horticulturalists arguing about the best soil mix and a fourth one in the background eating crisps off a microphone."
"The local pub quiz on Wednesdays is right up your street, four rounds on history, one on the periodic table and a tiebreaker question that always involves the latest Channel Four documentary on disappearing villages."
"You're into weird little museums and old train stuff, so that day trip's right up your street."
"They've started a board game night at the pub on Thursdays. Bit nerdy, bit chaotic, absolutely right up your street."
Where it comes from
Right up your street comes from the working-class geography of nineteenth-century English cities, where the street where you lived was the boundary of your daily world: your shops, your neighbours, your habits and your skills all clustered within five minutes of your front door. Saying something was right up your street meant it sat comfortably within that personal patch, a perfect match for who you were. The phrase appears in print in the eighteen-seventies and has remained a staple of British informal recommendation ever since.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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- An example
- Your patch
- Your voice