Also 7 spruse. [f. prec.]
1. trans. To make spruce, trim or neat.
1594. Nashe, Terrors of Night, To Rdr. You shal haue them … spend a whole twelue month in spunging & sprucing them.
1642. H. More, Song of Soul, I. II. 39. Then gan the learn’d and ag’d Don Psittaco … To spruse his plumes, and wisdome sage to show.
1671. trans. Palafox’s Conq. China, iv. 90. To cut off their hair which the Chinese love … and take great care to spruce and perfume it.
1756. Gentl. Mag., XXVI. 444. Paid Lavender’s man for sprucing my garden.
1772. Nugent, Hist. Fr. Gerund, I. 362. Our Friar Gerund was so … smugged, and spruced, that it was a delight to behold his face.
refl. 1637. Heywood, Pleas. Dial., No. 4, Wks. 1874, VI. 191. Himselfe he spruceth, studieth to be fine.
1683. trans. Erasm. Moriae Encomium, 44. Another shall spruce himself in a light periwig.
1703. Rules Civility, 57. An old Man or Woman trimm’d up like young People of Eighteen, would make us believe they had spruc’d themselves so for no other end.
1903. J. Conrad & Hueffer, Romance, V. 40. He had spruced himself, but I seemed to see the rags still flutter about him.
b. With up.
1676. Etheredge, Man of Mode, III. iii. I took particular notice of one that is alwaies spruc’d up with a deal of dirty sky-colur’d Ribband.
a. 1704. T. Brown, Lett. Ser. & Com., Wks. 1709, III. 126. Madam D—, whom you are so angry with for … sprucing up her decay’d Person.
1748. Lady Luxborough, Lett. Shenstone, 27 June. My slovenly garden, which cannot be weeded, nor in the least spruced up, till my hay is all in.
1853. Felton, Fam. Lett., xlv. (1865), 336. I do not think you would have known my coat, hardly me, so spruced up were both of us.
1894. H. Nisbet, Bush Girl’s Rom., 135. When washed and spruced up they looked and talked not unlike gentlemen.
fig. 1672. Eachard, Lett., 21. Out comes the Vindicationer, and spruces up this objection.
refl. 1621. Burton, Anat. Mel., III. ii. IV. i. Salmacis would not be seen of Hermaphroditus, till she had spruced up her self first.
1674. trans. Scheffer’s Lapland, 111. Woollen Cloth-Garments (such as they use to spruce themselves up withal, at their public Festivals, or more solemn affairs).
1749. Mrs. Delany, Life & Corr. (1861), II. 532. Mrs. Foley’s, where I was to spruce myself up a little before dinner.
1862. Sala, Seven Sons, II. v. 138. [She] spruced herself up to the extent of putting on … a black silk jacket.
1895. Snaith, Mistress Dorothy Marvin, xli. Well, friend, go spruce yourself up a bit.
† 2. intr. With it: To be spruce or trim. Obs. rare.
1611. Cotgr., Faire la fringue, to iet, brag, spruce it, wantonnize it. Ibid., s.v. Garber.
3. With up (or † out): To make oneself spruce.
1709. Mrs. Manley, Secret Mem., I. 176. His Father and grandfather are … profess’d Sparks, and spruce up in Cherry and other gaudy colour’d silk Stockings.
1746. Mrs. Delany, Life & Corr. (1861), II. 443. We return home at two and spruce out, dinner at half an hour after two.
1833. [Seba Smith], Lett. J. Downing, ii. (1835), 35. To-night we’re goin to a quiltin at Uncle Josh’s. Miss Willoby … is sprucin up for it.
1869. Mrs. Stowe, Old Town, xvii. All of a sudden, Dench … seemed to kind o’ spruce up and have a deal o’ money to spend.
