abstract:To put "lipstick on a pig" is a rhetorical expression, used to convey the message that making superficial or cosmetic changes is a futile attempt to disguise the true nature of a product.
And then of course there's the charge that when he said putting lipstickonapig he was referring to Sarah Palin, which seems to not to be supported by the evidence.
"Without the legally binding contract that the European retailers have signed, it's just putting lipstickonapig, " said Bob Ross, a critic of sweatshops who teaches sociology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.