gilded the lily
Added unnecessary ornament
Gilded the lily means added unnecessary ornamentation to something already beautiful or sufficient.
The phrase comes from a misquotation of Shakespeare—the original was "gild refined gold" and "paint the lily." To gild something already perfect is wasteful excess: The marble floors were gorgeous, but the gold trim gilded the lily.
Usually implies criticism of overdoing it.
- too muchBeyond acceptable limits
- too much of a good thingExcess spoils enjoyment
- overkillUnnecessary additional effort
- over the topExcessively theatrical or extreme
- go overboardAct with excessive enthusiasm
embellish · superfluous · adorn · redundant · bells and whistles · icing on the cake · over-the-top · decorate · unnecessary · excessive · enhance · refine · augment · Shakespeare · extravagant · polish · flawless · gaudy
gilded the lilyunderstated
Deliberately minimized in expression
stripped down · toned down · simplified · pulled back · scaled back
gilded the lilyless is more
Restraint creates impact
stripped down · understated · minimalist · unadorned · austere