gild the lily

gild the lily
(gild (или paint) the lily)
"позолотить лилию", пытаться улучшить или украсить что-л., не нуждающееся в улучшении или украшении; заниматься бесплодным делом, тратить время или силы попусту [paint the lily шекспировское выражение; см. цитату; gild the lily контаминация двух выражений gild refined gold и paint the lily]; см. тж. gild refined gold

Salisbury: "...To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, To smooth the ice, or add another hue Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, Is wasteful and ridiculous excess." (W. Shakespeare, ‘King John’, act IV, sc. 2) — Солсбери: "...Позолотить червонец золотой И навести на лилию белила, И лоск на лед, и надушить фиалку, И радуге прибавить лишний цвет, И пламенем свечи усилить пламя Небесного сияющего ока - Напрасный труд, излишество пустое." (перевод Н. Рыковой)

John: "Don't you know that you have a reputation for putting on airs a little - for gilding the lily a bit?" (T. Williams, ‘Summer and Smoke’, part I, sc. 1) — Джон: "Разве вы не знаете, что прослыли девушкой, склонной немного задирать нос и несколько приукрашивать свои бесспорные достоинства?"

...he stepped down the corridor, and flung open the door of a larger dressing-room in which a dozen resplendent coloured girls were gilding the lilies of their beauty. (C. MacInnes, ‘City of Spades’, part II, ch. V) — ...Норбер прошел по коридору и открыл дверь артистической уборной, в которой десяток прехорошеньких цветных девушек старались сделать свою наружность еще более эффектной.


Большой англо-русский фразеологический словарь. - М.: «Русский язык-Медиа».. 2006.

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Смотреть что такое "gild the lily" в других словарях:

  • gild\ the\ lily — • gild the lily • paint the lily v. phr. To add unnecessarily to something already beautiful or good enough. To talk about a beautiful sunset is to gild the lily. For the beautiful girl to use makeup would be to gild the lily. Frank s father is a …   Словарь американских идиом

  • gild the lily — If you gild the lily, you decorate something that is already ornate …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • gild the lily — ► gild the lily try to improve what is already beautiful or excellent. [ORIGIN: misquotation of a line from Shakespeare s King John VI. ii.] Main Entry: ↑gild …   English terms dictionary

  • gild the lily — meaning ‘to try to improve what is already as beautiful as it can be’, is a not quite accurate quotation from Shakespeare, King John iv.ii.11: To gilde refined Gold, to paint the Lilly; To throw a perfume on the Violet, [etc.] …   Modern English usage

  • gild the lily — verb 1. adorn unnecessarily (something that is already beautiful) • Syn: ↑paint the lily • Hypernyms: ↑decorate, ↑adorn, ↑grace, ↑ornament, ↑embellish, ↑beautify …   Useful english dictionary

  • gild the lily — also[paint the lily] {v. phr.} To add unnecessarily to something already beautiful or good enough. * /To talk about a beautiful sunset is to gild the lily./ * /For the beautiful girl to use makeup would be to gild the lily./ * /Frank s father is… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • gild the lily — also[paint the lily] {v. phr.} To add unnecessarily to something already beautiful or good enough. * /To talk about a beautiful sunset is to gild the lily./ * /For the beautiful girl to use makeup would be to gild the lily./ * /Frank s father is… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • gild the lily —    A phrase meaning to add unnecessary ornamentation to something already beautiful. Gild the lily is attributed to Shakespeare, but there is a catch the phrase used in Shakespeare s play King John is actually to paint the lily …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • gild the lily —    If you gild the lily, you decorate something that is already ornate.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • gild the lily —  The passage from Shakespeare’s King John is: To gild refined gold, to paint the lily ... Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. Thus it is both wrong and hackneyed to speak of gilding the lily in the sense of overdoing something …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • gild the lily —    The passage from Shakespeare s King John is To gild refined gold, to paint the lily. . ./Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. Thus it is both wrong and resorting to a woeful cliche to speak of gilding the lily in the sense of overdoing something …   Dictionary of troublesome word


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