No Need to 'Gild the Lily' — VOA Learning English
Topics: суспільство
Beginning
Now it's time for Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage.
Before we talk about today’s idiom, let’s talk about words that you will need to know – gilt and gild.
“Gilt” as a noun is the gold, or something that looks like gold, laid on a surface. It can also be an adjective. “Gild” is a verb. It means to cover with a fine layer of gilt. Sometimes we add gilt to a plain material like wood to make it look better. In fact, entire buildings can be gilded to make them more pleasing to the eye.
Word experts say American writer Mark Twain created the term “Gilded Age.” In the 1873…
Tap any word for its translation at once; the word goes into your deck together with its sentence.