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Gilded pills

Posted by David FG on September 12, 2005

In Reply to: Gilded pills posted by Julia on September 12, 2005

: Hi, my name is Julia. I am studying English as a second language. Could you possibly explain to me the meaning of this proverb (If the pills were pleasant, they would not be gilded) and illustrate the situations where it can be used. Thank you.

It's not a proverb I am familiar with, but I think it means something like: if something is truly not going to be unpleasant, it wouldn't be necessary to stress how good it will be.

The reference is to an attempt to make pills look/taste better by disguising them.

An example might be: 'You don't need to keep telling me that the dentist won't hurt. If the pills were pleasant, they would not be gilded.'

I am sure someone else can make a much better job of explaining.

DFG

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