Sexed Up

Sexed up refers to making something appear more attractive than it really is by selective presentation; a modern update to the phrase "hyped up". Variants include "sex it up". The implication is that no actual lying is taking place, but that spin is being placed on certain parts of the message. The phrase became common currency in the United Kingdom when the BBC, and other media, alleged that British intelligence reports on Iraq had been "sexed up". This issue was a key part of the Hutton Inquiry. The term has been also used in Australian discussion of its decision to go to war in the coalition with America. It is presumably based on the older phrase "sex sells", which means that, for example, the more beautiful the people in advertisements, the more likely people will purchase the product. It was probably coined in the 1980s or 1990s in Britain or the US, although Pat Benatar used the variation "sex s.o. up" as early as the 1980s.

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
alien vs. predator
list of nova scotia provincial highways
attribution (journalism)
tintin in tibet
grampian mountains, scotland
maya rudolph
class in the contemporary united states
thunderpants
1993 golden raspberry awards
baron congleton
cide
baron chesham
baron churston
baron coleridge
lateinschule
baron cottesloe
tyler
western reserve academy
eagle pass
opioid
baron crawshaw
crystal city
wink
gonzales
new brunswick highway 11
1992 golden raspberry awards
tooker gomberg
jackson county
eola
burton taylor theatre
san juan river
tightrope walking
san juan river (utah)
dicknity
quarter pipe
italian grand prix
steve miller
british humanist association
empire (cinema)
in camera
1991 golden raspberry awards
computational number theory
marguerite berenger of provence
brigham young university of hawaii