English · Slang Attested

cute-'em-up

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A shoot 'em up game with a cute, cartoonish aesthetic.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

trò chơi bắn súng với phong cách hoạt hình dễ thương

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

It's a parody of Gradius (geddit?) and as such, is a fully-fledged “cute 'em up.” The hectic sideways-scrolling action is every bit as intense as its namesake, but instead of battling spaceships and futuristic hardware you have sunny levels filled with cartoon penguins, giant clowns, flying pigs and

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “cute-'em-up” mean?

A shoot 'em up game with a cute, cartoonish aesthetic.

Is “cute-'em-up” formal or informal?

cute-'em-up is generally slang.

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