dredge something ↔ up phrasal verb ( see also ↑ dredge )
1 . to start talking again about something that happened a long time ago, especially something unpleasant:
Newsweek magazine dredged up some remarks which he made last year.
2 . to manage to remember something, or to feel or express an emotion, with difficulty:
Robertson tried to dredge up an image of her in his mind.
From somewhere she dredged up a brilliant smile.
3 . to pull something up from the bottom of a river, lake etc