paint a rosy picture

English

Verb

paint a rosy picture (third-person singular simple present paints a rosy picture, present participle painting a rosy picture, simple past and past participle painted a rosy picture)

1. (idiomatic) To describe a situation or prospective set of events in an upbeat, optimistic manner.
   • 1948 January 12, “Russia: Tombstones & Wolf Traps”, in Time, retrieved 23 August 2020:

     Censored dispatches painted a rosy picture of Soviet plenty, but uncensored reports told a different story […] [with] Soviet bureaucracy malfunctioning as usual.

   • 2007 June 15, David Litterick, “Goldman is hit by sub-prime problems”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 23 August 2020:

     The company did paint a rosy picture of its investment banking division, booking record revenues of $1.7bn and saying its backlog of work stood at record levels.

   • 2009 February 9, Nicholas Kulish, Helene Cooper, “Holbrooke Says Afghan War 'Tougher Than Iraq'”, in New York Times, retrieved 23 August 2020:

     Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of the United States Central Command, did not paint a rosy picture of the situation in Afghanistan. […] He said needs included not only ground forces but also an array of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, military police officers, special operations, cargo and attack helicopters and more.

Translations

to describe a situation or prospective set of events in an upbeat, optimistic manner

• Greek: ωραιοποιώ (el) (oraiopoió)
• Hungarian: rózsás képet fest

See also

• rose-colored glasses