ENGLISH
REFERENCE

gin up

phr. v..
C1 Advanced Oxford American English Informal

phr. v.. to create or increase interest, support, or excitement for something, often in an artificial way.

phr. v.. to generate or stimulate interest, support, or activity, typically through deliberate effort or manipulation; often carries a connotation of artificiality or exaggeration.


SIMPLE

The company is trying to gin up interest in its new product.

CONTEXTUAL

Politicians often try to gin up anger among voters right before an important election to increase turnout.

COMPLEX

The marketing department attempted to gin up a sense of urgency through a series of carefully timed social media leaks and limited-time offers.

Etymology 1

From gin (short for engine or generate) + up.

Etymology 2

From gin (the drink) + up.

Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
gin + up + object
Usage

primarily used in political or business contexts regarding support, enthusiasm, or sales.

Teaching tip

this is a colorful Americanism; contrast it with 'drum up' which is more common and neutral, whereas 'gin up' can imply the excitement is fake or forced.

Pitfall

They ginned the crowd up.They ginned up the crowd.while technically separable, this phrasal verb is almost always used with the object following the particle 'up'.

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