put lipstick on a pig
To superficially alter something in the hope of making it seem more appealing than it…To superficially alter something in the hope of making it seem more appealing than it is in actuality.
» That would be like putting lipstick on a pig.
Das wäre so, als wollte man bei einem Schwein Lippenstift auftragen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic, slang)To superficially alter something in the hope of making it seem more appealing than it is in actuality.
Near-synonyms: polish a turd, sugarcoat the pill
That new box is like putting lipstick on a pig. It's still the same buggy program inside.
Examples
3 sentencesThat would be like putting lipstick on a pig.
deDas wäre so, als wollte man bei einem Schwein Lippenstift auftragen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
You could put makeup on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Translations
1 languagesForms
puts lipstick on a pig, putting lipstick on a pig, put lipstick on a pig, put lipstick on a pig| Base form | put lipstick on a pig · to put lipstick on a pig |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | puts lipstick on a pig |
| Present participle | putting lipstick on a pig |
| Past simple | put lipstick on a pig |
| Past participle | put lipstick on a pig |
irregular · Lesson
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | put lipstick on a pig |
| he, she, it | puts lipstick on a pig |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | put lipstick on a pig |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have put lipstick on a pig |
| he, she, it | has put lipstick on a pig |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will put lipstick on a pig |
Synonyms
1 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular 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.