send-up

Or send·up

[send-uhp]

noun

1. an entertaining or humorous burlesque or parody; takeoff.

   The best skit in the revue was a send-up of TV game shows.

send up

verb

1. slang,  to send to prison

2. informal,  to make fun of, esp by doing an imitation or parody of

   he sent up the teacher marvellously

noun

1. informal,  a parody or imitation

Word History and Origins

Origin of send-up¹

First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase send up, in sense “to parody”; compare earlier Brit. academic usage “to mock, scoff at”

Idioms and Phrases

Put in prison, as in He'll be sent up for at least ten years . [Mid-1800s]

Cause to rise, as in The emissions sent up by that factory are clearly poisonous . [Late 1500s]

Satirize, make a parody of, as in This playwright has a genius for sending up suburban life . [First half of 1900s]

send up a trial balloon . See trial balloon .

Related Words

• dampen 
• daunt 
• debilitate 
• deject 
• disconcert 
• discourage 
• dishearten 
• disorganize 
• dispirit 
• disturb 
• embarrass 
• sap 
• undermine 
• unsettle 
• upset 
• weaken