play up Old Gooseberry

A form of play Old Gooseberry — To suddenly put a stop to a disturbance by force or threats.

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Meanings

verbplay up Old Gooseberry (third-person singular simple present plays up Old Gooseberry, present participle playing up Old Gooseberry, simple past and past participle played up Old Gooseberry)

present singular third person plays up Old Gooseberry · participle present playing up Old Gooseberry · participle past played up Old Gooseberry · past played up Old Gooseberry

  1. alternativeAlternative form of play Old Gooseberry.

    Sandy's the boy, if once to it they fall, / That will play up old gooseberry soon with them all.

    1819 March 28, Thomas Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress, page 22
Cite this entry
APA

play up Old Gooseberry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20up%20Old%20Gooseberry

MLA

“play up Old Gooseberry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20up%20Old%20Gooseberry. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “play up Old Gooseberry,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20up%20Old%20Gooseberry.

Source: play up Old Gooseberry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.