'dressing up' vs. 'dressing down'

[Focker]

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", question 2

To French people, the American idea of ......... looks like a homeless person who just finished a once-a-year trip to the laundromat.

(a) dressing down
(b) dressing up
(c) dressing gown
(d) dressing room

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", answer 2

To French people, the American idea of dressing down looks like a homeless person who just finished a once-a-year trip to the laundromat.

Correct answer: (a) dressing down
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'dressing up' VS. 'dressing down'

Focker

[Conchita]

To dress up is to put on a costume: the children dressed up as policemen. It can also mean to wear formal clothes for a special occasion.

To dress down is to rub down (a horse). It also means to intentionally wear informal clothes. In colloquial speech, it means to beat or scold.

[Ecaterina]

What's the meaning of 'laundromat' in this context?
Thanks,
Ecaterina

[Torsten]

It's a self-service laundry, a place where clothes are washed and dried. Another word for it is laundrette.

TOEIC listening, photographs: The Laboratory Screen

[Mahboubeh]

Hi all
I haven't got the meaning of the whole sentence yet... any help?!

[Beeesneees]

The French as a nation are known for their style and fashion sense.
This sentence is indicating that when such a person sees an American who has 'dressed down' (deliberately worn informal clothes), then it looks (not literally) to the stylish French person as if the American is homeless (and only possesses old clothes). According to the writer, the only distinguishing feature between an American who has dressed down and a homeless person is that the "dressed down" person's clothes will be scruffy, but clean. A homeless person's clothes would be scruffy and dirty... unless, as the sentence indicates, the homeless person has just been to the laundrette ( a rare occurence according to the sentence writer).
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Cheers m' dears!

[Mahboubeh]

Thank you very much Beeesneees for this excellent explanation :)

[Mahboubeh]

Thanks to my poor quality internet connection my statement was posted twice!!!.. I apologize for the inconvenience.

[Beeesneees]

It's not a problem - I don't mind being thanked twice! (But I've removed the duplicate post anyway.) :-)
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Cheers m' dears!

[Amy Sheez]

Hey! I have always thought how these idioms for example "dress up and dress down" and many others come in to existence ! I mean do the native speakers invent these according to what ever they want to say, or do they also have to learn different idioms at school or college level, like most learners of English do? BEEESNEEES please help me out with this! Also suggest me the best way of getting along with idioms! That would be very kind of you!

[Torsten]

Hi Amy, you pretty much can answer your question yourself. I mean, how did you learn fixed phrases, idioms and collocations of your native language?

TOEIC listening, photographs: Reviewing blueprints

[Amy Sheez]

Hey Torsten! I would say , I grew up learning those, I learned it as a part of my language but all I want to know is that since I am a learner what can I do to get a command over Idioms! As a coach what would you suggest?

[Torsten]

I would suggest the same approach you used to learn your native language: Surround yourself with spoken English every day. That way you will pick idioms as part of the language rather than trying to cram into your head out of context.

TOEIC listening, photographs: Archaeological site