gussy up

gussy up
verb
put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
-

She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera

-

The young girls were all fancied up for the party

• Syn:
↑overdress, ↑dress up, ↑fig out, ↑fig up, ↑deck up, ↑fancy up, ↑trick up, ↑deck out, ↑trick out, ↑prink, ↑attire, ↑get up, ↑rig out, ↑tog up, ↑tog out
• Ant: ↑dress down (for: ↑dress up), ↑underdress (for: ↑overdress)
• See Also: ↑dress (for: ↑dress up)
• Derivationally related forms: ↑rigout (for: ↑rig out), ↑getup (for: ↑get up), ↑attire (for: ↑attire)
• Hypernyms: ↑dress, ↑get dressed
• Hyponyms:
↑preen, ↑primp, ↑plume, ↑dress, ↑prank, ↑tart up, ↑enrobe, ↑bedizen, ↑dizen
• Verb Group: ↑dress, ↑dress up, ↑costume
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s somebody

-

Somebody ——s

 (for: ↑dress up)
-

Somebody ——s

 (for: ↑overdress)

* * *

\\¦gəsē-\ transitive verb (gussied up ; gussied up ; gussying up ; gussies up)
Etymology: origin unknown
: to dress up : prettify

* * *

gussy up /gusˈi up/ (slang)
transitive verb
To smarten up
ORIGIN: Poss connected with ↑gussie

* * *

gussy up [phrasal verb]
gussy (someone or something) up or gussy up (someone or something) US, informal
1 : to put fancy clothes, jewelry, etc., on (someone)
— usually used as (be) gussied up

She was all gussied up [=dressed up] for the party.

2 : to make (something) more attractive, impressive, or fancy

The streets were gussied up with lights and garlands for the festival.

I made a basic tomato soup and then added fresh herbs to gussy it up.

• • •
Main Entry: ↑gussy

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • gussy — (v.) to dress up or decorate in a showy way, 1952, Amer.Eng. slang, apparently from Gussy (1940), schoolyard slang name for an overly dressed person, perhaps related to gussie (1901) effeminate man, and somehow connected to the nickname for… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gussy — or gussie [gus′ē] vt., vi. gussied, gussying [after Gussie, nickname for AUGUSTA1] Slang to dress ( up) or decorate in a fine or showy way …   English World dictionary

  • gussy — gus|sy [ˈgʌsi] v past tense and past participle gussied present participle gussying third person singular gussies gussy up [gussy sb/sth<=>up] phr v [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: Perhaps from gussie weak or stupid man (19 20 centuries), from… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • gussy — verb gussy up phrasal verb (I, T) AmE informal to make yourself look attractive by wearing your best clothes etc: gussy yourself up: Jolene gussied herself up for the party …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • gussy — /gus ee/, v., gussied, gussying. Informal. v.t. 1. to enhance the attractiveness of in a gimmicky, showy manner (usually fol. by up): a room gussied up with mirrors and lights. v.i. 2. to dress in one s best clothes (usually fol. by up): to gussy …   Universalium

  • gussy up — verb To don fancy clothing; to dress up particularly in flattering or specially altered garments. You bet shell gussy up for the party …   Wiktionary

  • gussy — gus|sy [ gʌsi ] verb ,gussy up phrasal verb transitive AMERICAN INFORMAL OLD FASHIONED to make someone or something look more attractive and fashionable …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • gussy — [[t]gʌ̱si[/t]] gussies, gussying, gussied Phrasal Verbs: gussy up …   English dictionary

  • gussy up — PHRASAL VERB If someone is gussied up, they are dressed very smartly. If something is gussied up, it is made more interesting or attractive. [mainly AM, INFORMAL] [V ed P] They all got gussied up. [V P N (not pron)] ...plans to gussy up the… …   English dictionary

  • gussy — verb (gussies, gussying, gussied) (gussy someone/thing up) N. Amer. informal make someone or something more attractive, especially in a showy way. Origin 1940s: perh. from Gussie, familiar form of the given name Augustus …   English new terms dictionary

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