What does gilding the lily mean

: to add unnecessary ornamentation to something beautiful in its own right.

(Entry 1 of 2) transitive verb. 1 : to overlay with or as if with a thin covering of gold. 2a : to give money to. b : to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to was hired to gild the company’s image.

1 Don’t gild the lily. 2 Some people add a little brandy to the recipe but I feel this is gilding the lily. 3 The dress is perfect. Don’t add anything to it at all.

There are no categorical antonyms for gild the lily. The verb gild the lily is defined as: To embellish or improve something unnecessarily.

The term refers to the gilding of a cheaper metal with a thin layer of gold. Many critics complained that the era was marked by ostentatious display, crass manners, corruption, and shoddy ethics. Historians view the Gilded Age as a period of rapid economic, technological, political, and social transformation.

Webster Dictionary

See Gold.] Gildverb. to make attractive; to adorn; to brighten. Etymology: [AS. gyldan, from gold gold.

Definition of high and dry

1 : being out of reach of the current or tide or out of the water. 2 : being in a helpless or abandoned position. Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More About high and dry.

Definitions of paint the lily. verb. make unnecessary additions to what is already complete. synonyms: gild the lily. type of: add.

Polished iron, steel and other metals are gilded mechanically by applying gold leaf to the metallic surface at a temperature just under red-hot, pressing the leaf on with a burnisher, then reheating when additional leaf may be laid on. The process is completed by cold burnishing.

Definition of cross that bridge when one comes to it

: to not worry about a possible problem until it actually happens I don’t know how we’ll pay the bills if you quit your job, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Definition of paint the town (red)

informal. : to go out drinking, dancing, etc.

to avoid giving a definite answer or position. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me the full story.

Definition of keep one’s nose to the grindstone

: to do hard, continuous work You’ll do well at school if you just keep your nose to the grindstone.

Definition of climbing the walls

: feeling very anxious or frustrated because one has a lot of energy but is unable to do something he or she wants to do Being stuck at home all weekend had me climbing the walls.

phrase. If you say that someone has bitten off more than they can chew, you mean that they are trying to do something which is too difficult for them. He bought the old hotel but soon realized he had bitten off more than he could chew.

Definition of the final/last straw

: the last in a series of bad things that happen to make someone very upset, angry, etc. It had been a difficult week, so when the car broke down, it was the last straw.

Definition of keep a straight face

: to not smile or laugh It was hard to keep a straight face with everyone else laughing.

Definition of when it rains, it pours

—used to say that when something bad happens other bad things usually happen at the same time The team not only lost the game but three of its best players were injured. When it rains, it pours.

Definition of icing on the cake

: something extra that makes a good thing even better The concert itself was great, and getting to meet the band afterward was (the) icing on the cake.

Also, live high on the hog. Prosper, live luxuriously, as in When Aunt Ida dies and they inherit her estate, they’ll be eating high off the hog, or Since their loan was approved, they’ve been living high on the hog.

Definition of cost an arm and a leg

informal. : to be too expensive I want a new car that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.