1
general::
Phrase(s): I was up all night with a sick friend.
an unlikely, but popular excuse for not being where one was supposed to be the night before. • Bill: Where in the world were you last night? Mary: Well, I was up all night with a sick friend. • Mr. Franklin said rather sheepishly, "Would you believe I was up with a sick friend?"
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs