plaster saint
1
9.3
- noun
- /ˈplæstər seɪnt/
- Offensive
:
hipócrita
Examples
-
Why should they be plaster saints when we aren't?
Fiction book (2001) -
To pretend the guy was a plaster saint without flaws is to deny the fullness of who he was, as well as the reason he died in his early forties, alone, broke, and in pain.
Blog text (12) -
Don't try to turn him into a plaster saint; he has made many mistakes like everyone else.
-
She was tired of people viewing her as a plaster saint when she was just as flawed as anyone.
-
The movie portrayed its hero as a plaster saint, glossing over his many imperfections.
Synonyms
A person who pretends to be morally better but is not sincere
Antonyms
How Virtuous
Surface Forms
Morphology
plaster + saint
The sense is partly derivable because 'plaster' evokes a superficial coating and 'saint' evokes holiness, so a learner can infer a façade of virtue (superficial saintliness). However, the evaluative nuance of insincerity and the idiomatic pairing may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partly transparent.
Etymology
The noun plaster saint comes from church statues of saints made of plaster that looked smooth and perfect but were cheap and lifeless. That's why the phrase means 'someone who seems perfect and good but is not sincere'.