gum up
to cover, dab, or stiffen with gum
informal to make a mess of; bungle (often in the phrase gum up the works)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
How to use gum up in a sentence
Republicans throw up procedural obstacles just to gum up the works and run out the clock.
John McCain to the Rescue as Senate Deal Breaks Nominee Logjam | Eleanor Clift | July 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAll of those can gum up the narrative he has crafted so carefully.
Michael Tomasky on Mitt Romney’s Naïve Evasion Strategy | Michael Tomasky | August 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut if it ever came down to it I should be able to knock down an airplane, gum up the works on a fusing detonator, maybe even—.
Cue for Quiet | Thomas L. SherredThat was why I objected to it in the first place: 'fraid somebody would lose it and gum up things.
The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High | Leslie W. QuirkExplosions and accidents of many kinds are possible with the lamp that is allowed to clog and gum up.
Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting | Mayton Clarence Hillick
Always wipe the stone dry after using, as the oil will dry and gum up the grinding surface if not kept clean.
Toy Craft | Leon H. BaxterAfter the etching has dried remove the same with water, and gum up again.
Practical Lithography | Alfred Seymour
Other Idioms and Phrases with gum up
Ruin or bungle something, as in The front office has gummed up the sales campaign thoroughly. This idiom is also put as gum up the works, as in John's changes in procedures have gummed up the works in the shipping department. [Slang; c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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