"trump up" = inflate

[Jonathan Lighter]

Obama actually did make the statement in question. Fabrication is not an issue here. That's why the usage struck me as so unusual.

  JL

Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Laurence Horn
Subject: Re: "trump up" = inflate
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At 7:15 AM -0700 4/14/08, James Smith wrote:
>--- Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>> A Fox News correspondent reports that even as the
>> "Obama camp" tries to minimize his recent comment
>> about bitterness in Pennsylvania, the "Clinton camp
>> is trying to trump up the statement."
>
>Or trying to make something out of nothing, ala
>trumped-up charges.

Good point; I knew there was another possible influence besides "ramp
up" but couldn't think what. So one question is whether the use of
"trump(ing) up X" may be signaling that the user considers the move
unjustified or exaggerated.

LH

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