gussied up

gussied up

Dressed or decorated fancifully or attractively, especially in a showy, garish, or tawdry manner. You sure got gussied up for the occasion! A tuxedo and everything! Samantha's always going around town all gussied up in those tacky dresses and cheap makeup. Anyone coming to my New Year's Eve party better be gussied up. Ladies, I want to see lots of sequins!

See also: gussied, up

gussy up

To dress or decorate someone, something, or oneself in order to create a fancier or more attractive appearance. A noun, pronoun, or reflexive pronoun can be used between "gussy" and "up." Why are you all gussied up? Is your boyfriend coming to visit today? I need to gussy myself up for the big gala event tonight. This room is so plain. How can we gussy it up for the party tonight?

See also: up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

gussied up

Rur. dressed up fancy. All the girls got gussied up for the dance, but the guys wore their regular clothes. Mary really got gussied up. She even curled her hair.

See also: gussied, up

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

gussied up

Also, all gussied up. Dressed up, as in Dana loves to get all gussied up and go to a fine restaurant. The origin of this expression is not clear, though possibly it relates to the earlier use of the noun gussie (derived from a proper name) for an effeminate man. [Slang; mid-1900s]

See also: gussied, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gussied up

(ˈgəsid...)

mod. dressed up in one’s best clothing. (Folksy.) I like to get gussied up and go out on the town.

See also: gussied, up

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.