"Gild the Lily" and "Polishing the Cannon Ball"

Posted by MHunting on June 13, 2006

There are a couple of phrases I tried to find here and could not. "Gild the Lily" and "Polishing the Cannon Ball". Gild the Lily can be found in other sources and is a contraction of a Shakespere line (John IV). But I can't find the derivation of "Polishing the Cannon Ball". It is my understanding that that phrase means to over prepare, but I would like the root source.

• "Gild the Lily" and "Polishing the Cannon Ball" Bob 13/June/06