Summary
Sometimes it’s good to make an effort to dress up smartly for a party. But how can we describe what you’ve done? Neil and Jiaying use an informal phrase for this very situation.
Transcript
Jiaying
This is The English We Speak with me, Jiaying…
Neil
…and me, Neil. We’ve got that posh office party to go to tonight – it’s a black-tie event.
Jiaying
Oh yes – a black-tie event means we have to dress smartly. So it’s suits for the men and dresses for us, women.
Neil
Yep, but I wonder which of us will look the smartest?
Jiaying
Hmm, I’m sure Roy looks very smart in a suit.
Neil
Maybe… but what about me? Don’t you think I would scrub up well?
Jiaying
You mean to look very smart after making a lot of effort? I’m not sure but it’s a good expression. When you ‘scrub up well’, it means you have made a lot of effort to look very smart or well presented. Neil, do you own any smart clothes?
Neil
Of course I do – and so do the people in these examples…
Examples
He wears jeans most of the time, but he scrubbed up well for the party.
Sharon scrubs up well – did you see what she was wearing last night?
That’s an impressive suit – you can scrub up well when you want to!
Jiaying
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. We’re talking about the expression ‘to scrub up well’. it’s an informal way of saying ‘to look very smart after making a lot of effort’. Hey, Neil – you’ve changed, haven’t you?
Neil
How do I look?
Jiaying
Not bad.
Neil
But not ‘scrubbed up’.
Jiaying
Well, if you could polish your shoes, brush your hair and…
Neil
…you mean make more effort?
Jiaying
‘To scrub up well’ involves putting in lots of effort… like Roy does.
Neil
I get the message. See you for the party later.
Jiaying
Bye, Neil!
Neil
Bye.