LANGUAGE CORNER
Gild/Paint the Lily
Brush Up Your Shakespeare, Act II
Like “honored in the breach,” the original phrase whence cometh this common error is usable just the way himself wrote it: “If you want to gild the lily, you could add herbs or minced garlic to the cheese layer” (emphasis added; the phrase in italics is the problem). In King John, some of the nobles are discussing His Majesty’s plans to have himself crowned a second time. To do so, says one, would be “wasteful and ridiculous excess,” as it would be “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily...” So our example is off on two counts: It seems to mean adding a finishing touch or a flourish, but Shakespeare meant going overboard. And it abuses the original, lovely phrasing. Let’s face it, the guy had a touch.
Other matters Shakespearean appear in "Honored in the Breach"; "Wherefore"; and "Raveled Sleave, With an 'A.'"
