🗓️ 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.Change the sentence using “Put Lipstick on a Pig”:
“They tried to make their harmful practices look better by creating a flashy video.”
Answer
They put lipstick on a pig by creating a flashy video.