set on a pedestal, to
set on a pedestal, to
To idealize; to glorify. This term alludes to the custom of worshiping the figures of saints and other notable individuals, which are literally placed on pedestals. It was used more generally from the mid-nineteenth century on. James Joyce had it in Ulysses (1922), “They discovered . . . that their idol had feet of clay, after putting him upon a pedestal.” See also feet of clay.
See also: on, set
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- binge-watch
- cat's paw, (be made) a
- carrot and the stick, the
- burned out, to be
- bats in one's belfry, to have
- washboard abs
- a back number
- back number
- be pushing up daisies