Polish

DEFINITION

To impart a very smooth finish to a surface, or such a finish itself. Also, the material which can be used to produce such a finish, either by rubbing with a mild abrasive or by the action of chemicals. Examples of such materials include: tripoli, rottenstone, pumice, and rouge.(pr. PAH-ləsh)Quote: While working on the editing of a film, Jerry Lewis was talking to Stanley Kubrick about how difficult it is to make something of quality out of bad material: "I was in my cutting room around 1 in the morning, and he strolls in smoking a cigarette and says, 'Can I watch?' I said: 'Yeah you can watch. You wanna see a Jew go down? Stand there.' That was the night I coined the expression, 'You cannot polish a turd.' And then Kubrick looked at me and said, 'You can if you freeze it.'" Jerry Lewis (contemporary), American actor and director. "What They Say About Stanley Kubrick," New York Times Magazine, July 4, 1999. Also see flat, glare, glossy, matt, mirror, rouge paper, semi-gloss, and semi-matt.