take the gilt off the gingerbread Definition

gilt¹
adj

1. Covered with a thin coating of gold or apparently so covered; gilded.

Thesaurus: glittering, showy, gaudy, specious, meretricious, painted, gleaming, lustrous, golden.

noun

1. Gold or a gold-like substance used in gilding.
2. Gilt-edged securities.

Form: gilts
3. Glitter; superficial attractiveness; glamour.

1. Verb past tense, past participle of gild¹.

Idiom: take the gilt off the gingerbread

To destroy the glamour or illusion.

Etymology: 14c.

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gingerbread
noun

1. A cake flavoured with treacle and ginger.
(Brit)
2. A self-help support organization for single parents.

Form: Gingerbread

Idiom: take the gilt off the gingerbread

See under gilt.