Sexed up refers to making something more sexually appealing. Since 2003 it has been used in the sense of making something 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.
History
The phrase gained currency in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2003, when BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan filed a report for BBC Radio 4's Today programme in which he stated that an unnamed source - a senior British official - had told him that the September Dossier had been "sexed up", and that the intelligence agencies were concerned about some "dubious" information contained within it - specifically the claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of an order. The dubious information was used to make the case for urgent action and to justify the war with Iraq.[1][2] Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton explained the term "sexed up" when used by the BBC as "a slang expression, the meaning of which lacks clarity in the context of the dossier ... It is capable of two different meanings. It could mean that the dossier was embellished with items of intelligence known or believed to be false or unreliable to make the case against Saddam Hussein stronger or it could mean that whilst the intelligence contained in the dossier was believed to be reliable, the dossier was drafted in such a way as to make the case against Sadddam Hussein as strong as the intelligence contained in it is permitted."[3]
Usage
- "One event in particular sours many freshman orientations: sexed-up sex-ed."[4]
- "Some things remain the same, but critics all say that the show was 'sexed up' by the CW for today's audiences."[5]
- In "The God Delusion", Richard Dawkins states that pantheism is "sexed up atheism" while "deism is watered-down theism".
In music
See also
- September Dossier, the "sexed up" statements leading to the war in Iraq
- Hutton inquiry
References
- ^ "10 ways to sex up a dossier". The Guardian. September 27, 2003. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
Close analysis shows the changes were intended to make the case for urgent action, and then to justify war
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Dossier on Iraq was not sexed up". The Hindu. September 12, 2003. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
After weeks of damaging headlines, the Blair Government scored a significant hit against its critics today when a high-power parliamentary committee cleared it of the allegation of "sexing up" the controversial dossier on Iraq's weapons capability, published last September.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Catherine Bennett (29 January 2004). "The sexing up of absolutely everything". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
The term "sexed up", as Lord Hutton explained yesterday, with wonderfully understated, under-sexed distaste, is "a slang expression, the meaning of which lacks clarity in the context of the dossier". If he says so. "It is capable of two different meanings. It could mean that the dossier was embellished with items of intelligence known or believed to be false or unreliable to make the case against Saddam Hussein stronger or it could mean that whilst the intelligence contained in the dossier was believed to be reliable, the dossier was drafted in such a way as to make the case against Sadddam Hussein as strong as the intelligence contained in it is permitted." Only in the latter sense, according to Hutton's view, could the dossier be called sexed up.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Sexed-Up Sex-Ed". Wall Street Journal. September 5, 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Ashlee Simpson Gearing up for 'Melrose Place' Role". BuddyTV. August 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
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