to put lipstick on a pig
1
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
maquillar la realidad
- But you can put lipstick on a pig, and you still have a pig.
Examples
-
Many companies try to put lipstick on a pig by rebranding their failing products instead of improving them.
-
Talk about trying to put lipstick on a pig.
Blog text (2) -
You can put lipstick on the pig as you like, but it's still a pig.
Blog text (5) -
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!
Blog text (25) -
You can put lipstick on a pig, but that won't solve the real issues we face.
-
No amount of marketing can put lipstick on a pig; the product is still flawed beneath the surface.
Synonyms
12
2.9
Make something look better than it really is
6
4.3
Make people and places look nicer by dressing up, adding decorations, or using makeup
1
6.3
Make something seem more attractive than it really is
To make something look better than it is to trick people
To make a reputation or image look better by hiding problems
Antonyms
How Superficial
314
3.7
12
6.0
- Informal
1
8.4
12
2.9
28
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal image of applying lipstick to a pig transparently evokes the idea of futile or superficial beautification, so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer the basic metaphor of dressing up something undesirable. However, the expression is idiomatic and carries a pragmatic nuance (that underlying problems remain unchanged) that may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom put lipstick on a pig comes from the vivid picture of someone trying to make a pig look nicer by putting lipstick on it. So, even after you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig, and the phrase means 'to make only small changes that make something look better without fixing the real problem'.