VOA词汇掌故2023--No Need to 'Gild the Lily'

No Need to 'Gild¹ the Lily'

Now it's time for Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage.

Before we talk about today's idiom, let's talk about words that you will need to know – gilt² and gild.

"Gilt" as a noun is the gold, or something that looks like gold, laid on a surface. It can also be an adjective. "Gild" is a verb. It means to cover with a fine layer of gilt. Sometimes we add gilt to a plain material like wood to make it look better. In fact, entire buildings can be gilded³ to make them more pleasing to the eye.

Word experts say American writer Mark Twain created the term "Gilded Age." In the 1873 novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, he and co-writer Charles Dudley Warner made fun of newly rich people. They discussed how these people would cover wood and other objects with a thin layer of gold to make them look more costly⁴.

So, when you gild something you could be trying to cover up something ugly. But sometimes we may try to improve something that cannot be improved. It is already wonderful just the way it is. And our attempts to make it better can make it worse.

Take for example, a lily. Lilies are beautiful flowers. Like many beautiful things in nature, they do not need any additions to make them more beautiful.

And that brings us to the idiom gild the lily.

If I "gild the lily," I add some unnecessary decoration to something already beautiful. The thing I add is superfluous⁵. It is not needed.

Imagine if someone added a really bright shiny gold frame to the Mona Lisa painting. The frame is so bright that it is hard to see the smile on the famous woman. That would be gilding⁶ the lily.

However, we use this expression to talk about anything, not just artwork or objects. We gild the lily anytime we try to improve something that is already excellent.

For example, my friend has good bone structure and lovely skin. She's just gilding the lily when she wears makeup⁷.

Here is another example. Once I went to a beautiful garden. It had flowers of every height and color. It had a fish pond and was completely lined with beautiful trees and bushes. The garden was beautiful and peaceful. It was perfect. And then the owners built a tall structure in the middle of it. The structure was made almost of entirely⁸ of stained glass, like church windows. And while it was beautiful, it was truly gilding the lily. When the sun shone through it, you could not see one flower.

Here are some expressions that are similar: To go overboard, to overdo⁹ it, or to get carried away. Listen to this example.

A: I got carried away with the decorations on the birthday cake.

B: Yeah, you really went overboard with the sprinkles. The cake was so pretty and now I can't even see it!

Experts on the website Meriam Webster explain where the expression came from. The website says that "gild the lily" comes from Shakespeare. But the expression has changed over the years. In his play The Life and Death of King John the line is actually "to paint the lily."

Here is the shortened form from that play -- Act 4, Scene 2: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily / To throw a perfume on the violet.... / Is wasteful¹⁰ and ridiculous excess."

These days we just say "gild the lily."

Words in This Story

layer – n. one thickness or fold over or under another

ugly – adj. horrid¹¹ or unpleasant especially to the sight

decoration – n. something that decorates or beautifies

superfluous – adj. going beyond what is enough or necessary

stained glass – n. glass colored or stained (as by fusing metallic¹² oxides into it) for decorative¹³ applications (as in windows)

sprinkles – n. small particles of candy used as a topping

perfume – n. the scent¹⁴ of something sweet-smelling

ridiculous – adj. extremely silly or unreasonable¹⁵

excess – n. an amount beyond what is usual, needed, or asked

1 gild   

vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色

参考例句：

• The sun transform the gild cupola into dazzling point of light.太阳将这些镀金的圆屋顶变成了闪耀的光点。
• With Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney primed to flower anew,Owen can gild the lily.贝巴和鲁尼如今蓄势待发，欧文也可以为曼联锦上添花。

2 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

3 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

6 gilding   

n.贴金箔，镀金

参考例句：

• The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了，别再作任何修饰了，那只会画蛇添足。
• The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。

7 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

10 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

11 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

12 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

13 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

14 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

15 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。