Getting ready · Home and routines
smarten yourself up
look more presentable
To make your appearance neater or more suitable for a formal situation.
This vs that
I need to smarten myself up for the interview.
I need to do my hair for the interview.
Hear it in real life
Can I wear jeans to the ceremony?
You can, but you might want to smarten yourself up a bit.
You'd better smarten yourself up if you're going to meet her parents.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
Smarten yourself up is a natural informal way to talk about improving your appearance.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: I need to smart myself up for the interview.
Say: I need to smarten myself up for the interview.
The verb is smarten, not smart, in this expression.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
smarten yourself up for ___
You should smarten yourself up for the interview.
I had to smarten myself up for a family wedding.
Getting ready words
Home and routines · Getting ready: the words around “smarten yourself up”.
More connectionsMore getting ready words5
More getting ready words
Your turn: say it out loud
I should smarten myself up a bit.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
smarten yourself up
look more presentable
“You'd better smarten yourself up if you're going to meet her parents.”
heytardy