Gussie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To dress up or make oneself look fancy, often with extra effort or decoration ; to fuss or fidget about something in a restless way
2. To adorn or spruce up one's appearance with care and attention ; to move about nervously or waste time on minor adjustments
3. To put on fancy clothes or improve one's look deliberately ; to busy oneself with fiddling or pointless adjustments

Etymology: The origin of "gussie" is uncertain, and most of its history is in its uses rather than its roots. It is best known as the nickname "Gussie," short for Augusta or Augustus, and in the verb phrase "gussy up," meaning to dress showily or make something look elaborate. Dictionaries do not agree on where the slang sense came from, and some explanations linking it to the personal name are plausible but unconfirmed. The name became widely recognised through P. G. Wodehouse's comic fiction. His character Gussie Fink-Nottle, a shy, nervous young Englishman, made the nickname a byword for a fussy, ineffectual young man. Readers of Wodehouse therefore tend to hear the name as comic rather than grand, even though the verb "gussy" carries a sense of ornamentation and display.