Word.ws English Dictionary

taking the gilt off the gingerbread

taking the gilt off the gingerbread is the present participle and gerund of take the gilt off the gingerbread.

Meaning of take the gilt off the gingerbread

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., […]...

Questions about taking the gilt off the gingerbread

What is taking the gilt off the gingerbread the present participle and gerund of?
Taking the gilt off the gingerbread is the present participle and gerund of take the gilt off the gingerbread.

Words near taking the gilt off the gingerbread in the dictionary

  1. taking the fall
  2. taking the fifth
  3. taking the front seat
  4. taking the game to
  5. taking the gap
  6. taking the gilt off the gingerbread
  7. taking the heat
  8. taking the helm
  9. taking the initiative
  10. taking the knee
  11. taking the l

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking the gilt off the gingerbread (page history and authors); 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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