Understanding Lipstick on a Pig: A Phrase of Jargon for New Professionals

When entering any corporate environment, you’re likely to come across a variety of different phrases and sayings. Many of these expressions can quickly become office jargon, with some meanings that can be easily misunderstood. One such phrase attempted to use in a business context is “lipstick on a pig” – but what does it really mean?

Simply put, lipstick on a pig is a phrase generally used to describe the relatively useless attempts made in trying to improve something or cover up an issue or problem. As an example, imagine you have an old car that you’ve been trying to restore. Despite your hard work and effort, the car is still not in great shape and has major issues. You could try and put lipstick on a pig by adding a fresh coat of paint and a new set of wheels, but underneath the aesthetics, the underlying issues with the engine and other components still remain.

The phrase is generally used to laugh off attempts made to polish something that is inherently flawed. In the business world, this can be anything from attempts to spin a harsh business decision to trying to pass off poor quality work as something stellar. Ultimately, no amount of ‘polish’ can disguise the fact that it’s still a problem.

The key lesson to take away is that attempting to put lipstick on a pig is usually a waste of time. If you or the company has a problem, it’s important to focus on actually resolving the issue to ensure that similar mistakes can be avoided in the future. After all, it’s only by fully understanding and dealing with the problem at its core, that any kind of successful resolution can be made.