Dictionary

put lipstick on a pig en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, slang) To superficially alter something in the hope of making it seem more appealing than it is in actuality.
   • That new box is like putting lipstick on a pig. It's still the same buggy program inside.
   • Fran Healy, Mets announcer and former Giants catcher (about the possibility of putting a dome on Candlestick): "It would be like putting lipstick on a pig." 1987, Warner Fusselle, Baseball...a Laughing Matter!, page 183:
   • Near-synonyms: polish a turd, sugarcoat the pill

Forms

Relateds

old wine in a new bottle · cast pearls before swine · you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear · you can't polish a turd · mutton dressed as lamb

Synonyms

sugarcoat the pill · polish a turd

Translations (7)

fi laittaa huulipunaa possulle (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · cmn 屎盆子鑲金邊 /屎盆子镶金边 (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · pl czynić coś brzydkiego pozornie pięknym (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · pl uczynić coś brzydkiego pozornie pięknym (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · he נזם זהב באף חזיר (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · sv sminka en gris (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear) · fi kaunistella (to superficially alter something — see also you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear)