gussied up

Meanings

1. 1adjectiveafter a verbinformalAmericanhumorous

   Dressed or decorated in a fancy, showy way, often more than the occasion needs.

   Grammar: Used after be, get, or look: she was all gussied up.

   Patterns

   • all gussied up
   • get gussied up for something

   Everyone got gussied up for the wedding, hats and all.

   The old diner was gussied up with fresh paint and neon lights.

   He showed up at the picnic gussied up in a three-piece suit.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseinformalfigurative

   Made to look better or more impressive than it really is, with extra decoration.

   Grammar: Often applied to objects or ideas: a plain plan gussied up with fancy words.

   Patterns

   • gussied up with something
   • gussied up as something

   The report was just old data gussied up with colorful charts.

   That cheap motel is gussied up to look like a boutique hotel.

   The plain sandwich was gussied up with a fancy name on the menu.

Common combinations

all gussied up

The kids were all gussied up for the church photo.

get gussied up

We got gussied up and went dancing.

gussied up for

She was gussied up for the county fair.

gussied up with

The speech was gussied up with big words.

Synonyms and how they differ

dressed up

Dressed up is neutral and common, while gussied up adds a teasing sense of overdoing it.

spruced up

Spruced up means tidied and improved, with a more positive tone than gussied up.

decked out

Decked out suggests being fully equipped or decorated and is less mocking.

tarted up

Tarted up is a British informal phrase that can be insulting about showy decoration.

Opposites

Word family

gussy up phrasal verb

to dress or decorate something fancily

gussying up phrasal verb

the -ing form of gussy up

dolled up adjective

a similar informal term for dressed elaborately

Commonly confused: gussied up or gusset?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “gussied up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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