🗓️ Idiom: Put Lipstick on a Pig (v)
💬 Meaning
- Trying to make something bad look good without fixing the real problem.
- Changing the outside appearance but not improving the truth underneath.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The company changed its logo to look more eco-friendly, but it was just putting lipstick on a pig.
- They launched a CSR campaign while still using harmful chemicals—classic lipstick on a pig.
- Donating to a charity doesn’t help if your factory still pollutes the river. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom is from American English and became popular in politics and business. It uses humour to say that dressing up something ugly doesn’t make it better. A pig with lipstick is still a pig.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The company’s green rebranding effort was just a way to ________ after years of environmental damage.
Answer
put lipstick on a pig
2. Multiple choice:
What does “put lipstick on a pig” mean?
a) Solve a big problem
b) Make something new
c) Make something bad look better without real change
Answer
c) Make something bad look better without real change
3. Rewrite the sentence:
“They tried to make their harmful practices look better by creating a flashy video.”
Answer
They tried to put lipstick on a pig with a flashy video.
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