gild the lily
gild the lily · gilds the lily · gilded the lily · gilding the lily
переборщити, переприкрасити
unnötig ausschmücken, des Guten zu viel tun, übertreiben
To embellish or improve something unnecessarilyTo embellish or improve something unnecessarily.
/ˈɡɪld ðə ˈlɪli/
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic)To embellish or improve something unnecessarily.
unnötig ausschmücken, des Guten zu viel tun
переборщи́тиpereborščýty, переприкра́ситиpereprykrásyty
adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful)
To add superfluous attributes to something.
übertreiben
Translations
5 languagesУкраїнська
By meaning 1
to improve unnecessarily:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
to improve unnecessarily:
to add superfluous attributes:
Origin
A common misquotation of a line from William Shakespeare's play King John.A common misquotation of a line from William Shakespeare's play King John.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
gilds the lily, gilding the lily, gilded the lily, gilded the lily| Base form | gild the lily · to gild the lily |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | gilds the lily |
| Present participle | gilding the lily |
| Past simple | gilded the lily |
| Past participle | gilded the lily |
irregular
Synonyms
4 synonymsClose in meaning
- make unnecessary additions to what is already complete:paint the lily
- adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful):paint the lily
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedgold-plated
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.