gild the lily
The phrase "gild the lily" means to unnecessarily embellish or enhance something that is already beautiful or impressive, thus making it overly ornate or extravagant. It originates from a misquotation of a line from William Shakespeare's play King John: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily" (Act 4, Scene 2), where the original context suggests the futility of trying to improve something that is already perfect. Over time, the phrase has come to represent the idea of adding unnecessary enhancements and potentially ruining the original beauty or simplicity.
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