gild the lily


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

gild 1

 (gĭld)
tr.v. gild·ed or gilt (gĭlt), gild·ing, gilds
1. To cover with or as if with a thin layer of gold.
2. To give an often deceptively attractive or improved appearance to.
3. Archaic To smear with blood.
Idiom:
gild the lily
1. To adorn unnecessarily something already beautiful.
2. To make superfluous additions to what is already complete.
[Middle English gilden, from Old English gyldan; see ghel- in Indo-European roots.]
gild′er n.

gild 2

 (gĭld)
n.
Variant of guild.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gild the lily

To try to beautify something that is already beautiful and needs no further adornment.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.gild the lily - adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful)
paint the lily
adorn, decorate, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify - make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day"
2.gild the lily - make unnecessary additions to what is already complete
paint the lily
add - make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of; "We added two students to that dorm room"; "She added a personal note to her letter"; "Add insult to injury"; "Add some extra plates to the dinner table"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
The state will give U-46 over $50 million in additional state funding and the candidates you support would use that money to "gild the lily" rather than hold the line on school spending.
Elect candidates who will cut taxes
But when it comes to fish, simplicity isn't always what's achieved by cooks desperate to gild the lily.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE WITH SEAFOOD ON THE GRILL; The Oystercatcher in Chorlton hits the mark with its charcoal cooked fish and stylish decor
With true national heroes such as McCain, it's a mistake to gild the lily: He was a complicated man whose gift of inflexible principle was sometimes a political and emotional burden.
McCain understood GOP was selling its soul
And soon after Rajiv Van La Parra made the game safe only for Tom Ince to gild the lily in the 106th minute.
BLUES SUNK IN EXTRA TIME; THE VERDICT: BLUES 1 HUDDERSFIELD 1 (Huddersfield win 4-1 aet) Tie with Manchester United denied as Premier League opponents leave it late to get their eye in
He went on a binge to gild the lily by adding that 'they (Pakistan that is) have given us nothing but lies and deceit'.
The 'do more' mantra!
Whereas the decorative borders in hymns hubbub heard serve to gild the lily, they do little to enhance the already fantastical landscape in once were wild.
John McAllister: SHANE CAMPBELL GALLERY
Among those I've encountered, some multiple times: "refer back," "reflect back," "regress back," "remand back," "revert back." The sense of "back" is baked into many re--words, but some people aren't satisfied and are compelled to gild the lily. Similarly, heard in a podcast: "I'm rereading again...."
More amusing redundancies and "erroneous mistakes"
I'm not going to be on here and gild the lily. Ukip at the moment is looking over the edge of a political cliff, it'll either step off or it will step back.
Nuttall: I want to be next leader of Ukip
And to gild the lily Land Rover has added its innovative Ingenium diesel engine - made in Britain at the company's new multi-million pound powertrain plant in Wolverhampton - to the range.
Sport discovering some new horizons; Ian Johnson gets behind the wheel of the Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE 180
I've been banging on about this for a long time now-but those who open quiet little neighborhood restaurants are under a lot of pressure to gild the lily, or as one of my friends would call it, add eklavu to their restaurants to justify their existence (and also have an excuse to jack up the prices).
My timely discovery: A neighborhood resto in Pasig
(A terrific sword fight directed by Jacques Lemay was the only other, much-needed, burst of vitality.) He also successfully overcame director Glynis Leyshon's tendency to gild the lily Iago does not need petty, cartoomsh deeds, such as tripping Roderigo or shoving Otello down the stairs, to make him a villain--and sang with dark richness and detailed shading.
Pacific Opera Victoria
As a person whose dad is a scientist, I don't like when people romanticize science because I think the facts are amazing and beautiful on their own and you don't need to gild the lily. It annoys the crap out of me.
Constance Wu: the fresh off the boat star talks bunnies, books and her least favorite podcast

Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?