gild the lily

Cultural  

1. To adorn unnecessarily something that is already beautiful or perfect: “Morty had us all believing his tall tale until he couldn't resist gilding the lily.”

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gild the lily Idioms  

1. Add unnecessary adornment or supposed improvement. For example, Offering three different desserts after that elaborate meal would be gilding the lily. This expression is a condensation of Shakespeare's metaphor in King John (4:2): “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily ... is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” [c. 1800]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gild the lily

Most supermarket hams are already fully cooked, which means your job isn’t to roast so much as to gild the lily.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025

“The challenge of it was to try to go to that place but not gild the lily too much,” Scott says.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2024

No need to gild the lily with endless words: Zion Williamson has played three NBA preseason games, and it's already clear that he's going to be one of the best players of his generation.

From Golf Digest ● Oct. 14, 2019

So why not gild the lily, if you’re going to all the trouble of staging this beast?

From The Guardian ● Mar. 29, 2016

“As the poet puts it,” Marmaduke rattles on,— “You cannot gild the lily, Nor can you wet the sea; Pray tell me of my Bonnie, But bring her not to me!”

From Odd Numbers Being Further Chronicles of Shorty McCabe by Ford, Sewell