Wiktionary
gilding the lily
vb. (present participle of gild the lily English)
Usage examples of "gilding the lily".
She had had no real need to turn to in order to achieve the full effect that the Sirius had aimed at, yet from the mute, weary sullenness of her crew and the anxious, laded, harassed look of her officers, every man jack aboard had been hard at it, gilding the lily for this occasion.