Word.ws English Dictionary

take the gilt off the gingerbread

Syllables: take the gilt off the gin·ger·breadUK/ˌteɪk ðə ˈɡɪlt ɒf ðə ˈd͡ʒɪn(d͡)ʒəbɹɛd/US/ˌteɪk ðə ˈɡɪlt ɔf ðə ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚˌbɹɛd/

take the gilt off the gingerbread verb: to take away the most attractive or appealing qualities of something; to destroy an illusion.

Verb

take the gilt off the gingerbread (third-person singular simple present takes the gilt off the gingerbread, present participle taking the gilt off the gingerbread, simple past took the gilt off the gingerbread, past participle taken the gilt off the gingerbread)

  1. (idiomatic) To take away the most attractive or appealing qualities of something; to destroy an illusion.
    • If you only say the word, we shall take the gilt off the gingerbread,—you guess what I mean,—but remember that Sir Robert Walpole said, ‘every man has his price.’1837, Catherine Sinclair, chapter X, in Modern Society; or, The March of Intellect. The Conclusion of Modern Accomplishments, London: James Nisbet and Co., […]; Edinburgh: William Whyte and Co., […]...
    • The former gentleman too rarely appears amongst us as a solo pianist, did we hear him oftener, we are inclined to think he would, to use a homely figure of speech, "Take the gilt off the gingerbread" of many persons of much higher pretensions.1850 May 11, “Provincial Correspondence. Music at Manchester.”, in The Musical World. A Record of Music, the Drama, Literature, Fine Arts, Foreign Intelligence, &c. and Complete Record of the...

Forms of take the gilt off the gingerbread

third-person singular presenttakes the gilt off the gingerbread
present participletaking the gilt off the gingerbread
pasttook the gilt off the gingerbread
past participletaken the gilt off the gingerbread

Origin of take the gilt off the gingerbread

In the Middle Ages, gingerbread cakes were decorated with a thin layer of gold leaf. Without this casing, they were considered to be humble offerings, generally being little more than flavoured but stale bread.

Questions about take the gilt off the gingerbread

What does take the gilt off the gingerbread mean?
Take the gilt off the gingerbread means to take away the most attractive or appealing qualities of something; to destroy an illusion.
What part of speech is take the gilt off the gingerbread?
Take the gilt off the gingerbread is a verb.
How do you pronounce take the gilt off the gingerbread?
Take the gilt off the gingerbread is pronounced /ˌteɪk ðə ˈɡɪlt ɒf ðə ˈd͡ʒɪn(d͡)ʒəbɹɛd/ (UK).
What is the past tense of take the gilt off the gingerbread?
The past tense of take the gilt off the gingerbread is took the gilt off the gingerbread.

Words near take the gilt off the gingerbread in the dictionary

  1. take the flak
  2. take the floor
  3. take the front seat
  4. take the game to
  5. take the gap
  6. take the gilt off the gingerbread
  7. take the heat
  8. take the helm
  9. take the hint
  10. take the initiative
  11. take the knee

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: take the gilt off the gingerbread (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-take the gilt off the gingerbread.ogg.

Cite this entry: “take the gilt off the gingerbread.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/take_the_gilt_off_the_gingerbread. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.