rake up
To gather up leaves with a rake, or to bring up something bad from the past that people had forgotten about.
Meanings
To collect leaves, grass, or debris with a rake, gathering them into a pile.
"Every Sunday in autumn, we'd spend the morning raking up leaves in the garden."
To bring up unpleasant memories, old grievances, or embarrassing past events that had been forgotten.
"I wish the press would stop raking up that old story — it happened twenty years ago."
To gather or find something (people, information, support) from various places, often with effort.
"He raked up a few volunteers from the local community to help with the event."
In the figurative sense, 'rake up' almost always implies that the thing being revived is negative or uncomfortable. Often used in journalism about political scandals. The literal garden sense is common and transparent.
Commonly used with
Forms
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