drag somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb (see also drag)

1. to mention an unpleasant or embarrassing story from the past, even though it upsets someone:
Why do you have to drag that up again?

2. be dragged up British English if a child is dragged up, their parents do not teach them to behave properly – used humorously:
Those children have been dragged up, not brought up!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲