lay it on thick

1. Also, lay it on with a trowel. Exaggerate, overstate; also, flatter effusively. For example, Jane laid it on thick when she said this was the greatest book she'd ever read, or Tom thought he'd get the senator to waive the speaker's fee if he just laid it on with a trowel. This idiom alludes to applying a thick coat of paint or plaster. [c. 1600]

Related Words

• amplify 
• distort 
• emphasize 
• fabricate 
• falsify 
• heighten 
• inflate 
• magnify 
• misrepresent 
• overdo 
• overdraw 
• overemphasize 
• overestimate