gild the lily

English

WOTD – 16 October 2006

Etymology

A common misquotation of a line from William Shakespeare's play King John.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡɪld ðə ˈlɪli/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Verb

gild the lily (third-person singular simple present gilds the lily, present participle gilding the lily, simple past and past participle gilded the lily)

  1. (idiomatic) To embellish or improve something unnecessarily.
    Synonyms: go overboard, overegg, over-egg the pudding
  2. To add superfluous attributes to something.
    • 1908, Edith Wharton, A Motor-Flight through France, Chapter 11:
      Poor Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, so maligned for her imaginative pictures of Lovere and Lake Iseo, may surely be forgiven for having gilded the lily, for adding an extra touch of romance where the romantic already so abounded

Translations

See also

References

  1. ^ William Shakespeare (1595), “act IV, scene 2”, in The Life and Death of King John‎[1]:
    Salisbury: Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
    To guard a title that was rich before,
    To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
    to throw a perfume on the violet,
    to smooth the ice, or add another hue
    unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
    to seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
    is wasteful and ridiculous excess.
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