trowel /ˈtraʊəl/●lay it on ˈthick/with a ˈtrowel ( pile it on ˈthick, pile it ˈon) say that sth is much better or much worse than it really is because you want to impress or annoy sb（为给某人留下深刻印象而）过分吹捧，过分贬低，言过其实◆He said that she was his favourite author and that she deserved the Nobel Prize for literature. He really laid it on with a trowel.他对她说，她是自己最喜欢的作家，还说她应该获得诺贝尔文学奖。他对她真是不吝溢美之词。◆My father really piled it on, shouting at me for ages about my exam results.我父亲真是小题大做，因为我考试没考好冲我大喊大叫了老半天。