polished a turd
Dressed up junk
Polished a turd means attempted to make something fundamentally bad appear good or presentable.
The expression comes from the idea that no amount of polishing can make excrement attractive—you can buff it all you want, but it's still shit.
Used for futile efforts at improving the irredeemable: The marketing team polished a turd with that rebrand—the product still sucks.
- putting lipstick on a pigSuperficial improvement to something hopeless
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- fraudulenceIntentional deception for gain
- gilding the lilyEmbellishing the already beautiful
- whitewashingConcealing unpleasant facts
glossing over · spin doctoring · sugarcoating · veneer · false advertising · sprucing up · window dressing · embellishment · facade · chasing one's tail · masquerade · counterfeit goods · fool's gold · dressing up · damage control · smoke screen · smoke and mirrors · camouflage
polished a turdwhat you see is what you get
No deception or concealment
genuine article · called a spade a spade · told it like it is · truth in advertising · unvarnished truth
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