sauce up
B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To put sauce on food, or to make something more exciting or daring.
Literal meaning: To put sauce up onto food — fairly transparent for the culinary sense.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To add sauce to a dish or food to improve its flavour or presentation.
"He sauced up the grilled chicken with a homemade garlic and herb drizzle."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
To make something more exciting, entertaining, or bold, sometimes with a slightly provocative edge.
"The director sauced up the otherwise dull documentary with some dramatic re-enactments."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
The culinary sense is straightforward. The informal figurative sense can imply making something racier or more entertaining, sometimes with a slightly cheeky tone.
Commonly used with
pasta dish presentation story performance meal
Forms
Base
sauce up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sauces up
he/she/it
Past simple
sauced up
yesterday
Past participle
sauced up
have + pp
-ing form
saucing up
continuous
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