rub-up

Noun

rub-up (plural rub-ups)

1. The action of rubbing, for example polishing or massaging.
   • […] Ben laid them [the knives and forks] side by side, counted them, and finding the number agree with his guests, said, “They’ll dow capital when they’ve had a bit of a rub up.”1841, Thomas Miller, chapter 26, in Gideon Giles, the Roper, London: J. Hayward, page 212
   • He was still lingering in the pantry in the greatness of his zeal, giving a rub-up to a plated cruet stand the last thing before going to bed.1910, Joseph Conrad, “The Secret Sharer” in ’Twixt Land and Sea, New York: Hodder & Stoughton, p. 168
2. The act of bringing old information to the front of one's memory.

   Synonyms:

   review, revision

3. (Caribbean) A party, especially one that is spontaneous and involves music and dancing.
4. (obsolete) An encounter (with someone).
   • Altogether, it has been a most enjoyable trip to me. As much or as little company as I chose, and a rub up against a number of old acquaintances of all sorts.1889, Stevenson Arthur Blackwood, letter to his wife, cited in Some Records of the Life of Stevenson Arthur Blackwood, K.C.B., London: Hodder and Stoughton, p. 453
5. (obsolete, slang) The act of masturbating.
   • to do a rub-up