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gild the lily

To embellish or improve something unnecessarily; to add superfluous attributes to something.

Etymology:

  • A common misquotation of a line from William Shakespeare's 1595 play King John, iv.2:
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'gild the lily':

gild the lilyadd unnecessary ornamentation
Gild the LilyTo embellish or fabricate something that is already pretty and in a good condition
See them all »

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to gild the lily

lily-liveredlily-liveredgild the pill

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