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spruce

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all spruced up

Neat and clean. Typically said of something that is or was disorganized or in disrepair. We need to get this house all spruced up before the open house. This place was a wreck the last time I was here. I can't believe you got it all spruced up so quickly!

See also: all, spruce, up

*all spruced up

freshened up; tidied up; cleaned up. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; get someone or something ~.) Let's get the yard all spruced up for spring.

See also: all, spruce, up

spruce someone or something up

 

1. Lit. to tidy up and groom someone or something. Laura's mother took a few minutes to spruce her daughter up for the party. She spruced up her room each day.

2. Fig. to refurbish or renew someone or something. Do you think we should spruce this room up a little? Yes, let's spruce up this room with new furniture and drapes.

See also: spruce, up

spruce up somebody/something

also spruce somebody/something up

to improve the appearance of someone or something She needed to spruce up her image so she bought tons of new clothes and got a great new hairstyle. The city has to spruce itself up for the Olympics next year.

See also: spruce, up

spruce up

Make neat and trim, as in She spruced up the chairs with new cushions. This idiom originated in the late 1500s as simply spruce but had acquired up by 1676.

See also: spruce, up

spruce up

v.

To make someone or something neat, elegant, and stylish in appearance: The new curtains will certainly spruce up this drab room. She spruced herself up and went out to dinner.

See also: spruce, up