tart up

vb (tr, adverb)

1. to dress and make (oneself) up in a provocative way

2. to decorate or improve the appearance of: to tart up a bar.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb	1.	tart up - decorate in a cheap and flashy way; "the small-town bar was all tarted up" adorn, decorate, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify - make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day"
	2.	tart up - dress up in a cheap and provocative way attire, deck out, deck up, dress up, fancy up, fig out, fig up, rig out, tog out, tog up, trick out, trick up, gussy up, overdress, prink, get up - put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive; "She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera"; "The young girls were all fancied up for the party"

Translations

w>tart up

vt sep (esp Brit inf) → aufmachen (inf); oneself → auftakeln (inf), → aufdonnern (inf); there she was, all tarted up → da stand sie, aufgetakelt wie eine Fregatte (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive

Sacking Virgin from the local Cross Country franchise caused few tears, but the new firm, Arriva, has just upped fares by seven per cent and immediately used pounds 320 million of our cash to tart up the staff with new uniforms, trains with new livery and issue old apologies for poor on-going service on new stationery.

Letter: Rip-off fares

Sacking Virgin from the local Cross Country franchise caused few tears, but the new firm, Arriva, has just upped fares by seven per cent and immediately used pounds 20 million of our cash to tart up the staff with new uniforms, trains with new livery and issue old apologies for on-going poor service on new stationery.

Letter: New operator, same service

Sacking Virgin from the local Cross Country franchise caused few tears, but the new firm, Arriva, have just upped fares by seven per cent and immediately used pounds 20 million of our cash to tart up the staff with new uniforms, trains with new livery and issue old apologies for ongoing poor service on new stationery.

Letter: Your Say - Rail rip-offs; In association with POST OFFICE

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