Meaning & use
gild the lily
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
To add unnecessary decoration or effort to something that is already good, often spoiling it.
Grammar: Used as an intransitive verb phrase: you gild the lily, but you don't gild the lily something.
Patterns
- gild the lily
The cake was already beautiful, so adding more frosting would just gild the lily.
His speech was perfect; extra jokes would have gilded the lily.
Don't gild the lily by adding more details to an already clear report.
Common combinations
- gild the lily
- Adding a gold frame to that simple painting would gild the lily.
- be guilty of gilding the lily
- The director was guilty of gilding the lily with too many special effects.
- without gilding the lily
- The plain design works well without gilding the lily.
Synonyms and how they differ
- over-egg the pudding
- British informal; means to spoil something by doing too much, similar to gild the lily but often about effort rather than decoration.
- overdo it
- More general; means to do too much of anything, not specifically adding to something already good.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'gild the lily' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is an idiom meaning to add unnecessary decoration; it is used intransitively, so 'gilded the lily by adding...' is correct. Option An is wrong because 'gild the lily' cannot take an object like 'the cake'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gild the lily”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.