The idiom "clean up nicely" means to look very good or attractive after making an effort to dress up or groom oneself. It is often used to describe someone who normally looks casual or unkempt but looks impressive after dressing up for a special occasion.
For example, if someone usually wears casual clothes and messy hair, but they dress up in a suit and tie for a wedding, someone might say "Wow, you clean up nicely!" to compliment their appearance.
This idiom can also be used to describe a place or thing that looks much better after being cleaned or organized. For instance, if a messy room is cleaned and organized, someone might say "This room cleaned up nicely!"
Overall, "clean up nicely" is a positive and informal way to describe someone or something that looks much better after putting in some effort.
• The garden was a mess before we cleaned it up nicely and now it looks beautiful.
• He may be a messy eater, but he cleans up nicely when he dresses up for a formal event.
• The kitchen looks great after we cleaned it up nicely for the party.
• The politician's reputation was tarnished, but after a well-crafted PR campaign, he cleaned up nicely and won the election.
• My sister cleaned up nicely for her graduation ceremony.
• The company's financial reports were a disaster, but the new CFO was able to clean them up nicely.