Pile it on thick

[zohar]

Hi everybody,
I was wondering if you have any idea what does the idiom "pile it on thick" means?

[BobK]

I've heard 'lay it on thick' or 'pile it on'. See Lay it on thick - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com . But http://www.usingenglish.com/referenc...+on+thick.html reports your version.

b

[TheEditor]

Ditto -- I've heard "lay it on thick" countless times in the U.S., but not "pile it on thick."

In my experience, "lay it on thick" conveys both a sense of exaggerated drama and an element of deception -- or, put more bluntly, B.S.

For instance, a 17-year-old girl might tell her female friend: "When that cop pulled me over for speeding Saturday night, I sobbed and told him that my boyfriend had dumped me and I just wanted to get home to my mom. The cop let me go with just a warning."

FRIEND: "But you were on the way to Melinda's party. Wow, you sure laid it on thick!"

[BobK]

An extension of 'Lay it on thick' is 'Lay it on with a trowel': http//wickesmedia.live.venda.com/content/ebiz/wickes/invt/200406/Stainless-Steel-Brick-Trowel_large.jpg

A trowel (/'trɑʊɘl/) is what a bricklayer uses to put mortar on bricks - quite liberally! So when you 'lay it on with a trowel' you lay it on very thick. (This is pretty informal; but so's 'laying it on thick'.)

b