Lipstick on a pig

Etymology

Pigs have long been featured in proverbial expressions: a "pig's ear", a "pig in a poke", as well as the Biblical expressions "pearls before swine" and "ring of gold in a swine's snout". Whereas the phrase "lipstick on a pig" seems to have been coined in the 20th century, the concept of the phrase may not be particularly recent. The similar expression, "You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" seems to have been in use by the middle of the 16th century or earlier. English writer Thomas Fuller noted the use of the phrase "A hog in armour is still but a hog" in 1732, with the 1796 Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue noting that "hog in armour" alluded to "an awkward or mean-looking man or woman, finely dressed." The Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) recorded the variation "A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog" in his book of proverbs The Salt-Cellars (published 1887).

The "lipstick" variant of the phrase is more modern (the word "lipstick" itself was only coined in 1880).

In an article in the Quad-City Herald (Brewster, Washington) from 31 January 1980, it was observed that "You can clean up a pig, put a ribbon on tail, spray it with perfume, but it is still a pig." The phrase was also reported in 1985 when The Washington Post quoted a San Francisco radio host from KNBR remarking "That would be like putting lipstick on a pig" in reference to plans to refurbish Candlestick Park (rather than constructing a new stadium for the San Francisco Giants).

In a 1983 article, "Sugar Loaf Key: Tales of the Swine Family", Hunter S. Thompson describes a prank in which he put lipstick on the head of a pig and put it in the toilet of a Florida resort owner.

In the summer of 1992 at the Democratic National Convention, Texas governor Ann Richards said "Well, you can put lipstick on a hog and call it Monique, but it's still a pig." This was in reference to a plan by president George H.W. Bush to use US warships to protect oil tankers in the Middle East. Richards thought the program was wasteful spending.

21st-century usage

In May 2002, brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corporation ran a television advertisement pointing out Wall Street brokerage firms' conflicts of interest by showing an unidentified sales manager telling his salesmen, "Let's put some lipstick on this pig!" The ad appeared shortly after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced that Merrill Lynch stock analysts had recommended stocks that they privately called "dogs". CBS refused to air the ad.

The phrase was then used in political rhetoric to criticize spin, and to insinuate that a political opponent is attempting to repackage established policies and present them as new. Victoria Clarke, who was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Donald Rumsfeld, published a book about spin in politics titled Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game. The book argued, using anecdotes from her own career, that spin does not work in an age of transparency, when everyone will find out the truth anyway ("you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig").

By 2008, the phrase had become common and often controversial political invective in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was used by many US politicians, including the Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain during the 2008 United States presidential election, and former Vice President Dick Cheney (who called it his "favorite line").

In 2017 in New Zealand, the phrase became controversial when Opportunities Party leader Gareth Morgan used it in a way that was interpreted by journalists as an insult to Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern. Morgan said it was intended to describe Ardern's assumption of the Labour leadership as possibly a "superficial makeover" for the party.

Book titles

• Lipstick on a Pig by Dennis A. Smith, Writing the Wrong Ltd, 2008, 2010, 2020 ()
• Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game, Victoria Clarke, Free Press, 2006 ()
• Putting Lipstick on a Pig (Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Mysteries), Michael Bowen, Poisoned Pen Press, 2008 ()
• If You Put Lipstick on a Pig – You Will Have A Beautiful Pig, Penelope Dyan, Bellissima Publishing LLC, 2008 ()
• Let's Put Some Lipstick on This Pig? Practical and Innovative Insights for the Selling Professional, Mark McGlinchey, Business Management Solutions, 2003 ()
• Election 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (Substance of Governance; Legitimate Grievances; Candidates on the Issues; Balanced Budget 101; Call to Arms: Fund We Not Them; Annotated Bibliography), Robert David Steele Vivas, Earth Intelligence Network, 2008, ()

References

References

1. Zimmer, Ben. (2008-09-10). "Who First Put “Lipstick on a Pig”?". Slate.
2. Zimmer, Ben. (2008-09-10). "Who First Put "Lipstick on a Pig"?". Slate.
3. 978-0-099-52872-2
4. (2008-09-10). "'Lipstick on a pig' finds origin in tiny state newspaper". SeattlePi.com.
5. ''[[Songs of the Doomed. Gonzo Papers, Vol. 3: Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream]]'' p.207
6. Slater, Wayne. (2008-09-10). "Lipstick, pigs and memories of Ann".
7. Zimmer, Ben. (2008-09-10). "Where does the expression "lipstick on a pig" come from?".
8. McGeehan, Patric K.. (2002-10-28). "Schwab Ads Take Swipe at Big Firms". [[The New York Times]].
9. Clarke, Victoria. (2006). "Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game". Simon and Schuster.
10. Greenberg, Wendy. (June 2006). "Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows That Place".
11. (2006-07-26). "Labour 'lipstick on a pig' attack". [[BBC News]].
12. (2008-09-10). "Obama rejects 'lipstick' charge". Seattle PL.
13. Wilson, Chris. "McCain Said "Lipstick" Too". [[Slate (magazine).
14. (2008-09-10). "Obama accuses McCain campaign of 'lies'".
15. ''Turns out Dick Cheney knows about "lipstick on a pig" too'' [[Dallas Morning News]] 10 September 2008 [http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/turns-out-dick-cheney-knows-ab.html trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com]{{Dead link. (December 2025)
16. (2004-11-01). "Vice President's Remarks in Colorado Springs, Colorado".
17. (30 June 2023). "PM blasts Morgan's 'lipstick on a pig' jibe".