gussied up

1. 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]

Example Sentences

There’s nothing subtle about “House of Guinness,” which makes its points in declarative sentences — sometimes gussied up with Irish-y prose — and gives its characters hardly a moment to relax and enjoy their porter, swelling the soundtrack with aggressive modern Irish rock and rap to make it exciting to the people of 2025.

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Its patrons like to get all gussied up; in L.A., one sees Guess? jeans in a Verdi audience.

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Summer 2025’s blockbusters have been gussied up to seem as appealing and action-packed as ever.

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The film itself is a fairly slight story, gussied up in period costuming and hair.

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He was Fletcher Christian, an officer in His Majesty’s 18th century navy, gussied up in gold braid and buttons for the role, and he couldn’t have been more eager to shed the suit and the buttoned-up culture it stood for.

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Related Words

• brilliant 
• flashy 
• garish 
• jazzy 
• ostentatious 
• showy 
• snazzy 
• splashy