点金成铁 diǎn jīn chéng tiě

DEFINITIONS

  1. to transform gold into base metal (idiom); fig. to edit sb else's beautiful prose and ruin it

CHARACTERS

点 diǎn dot, speck, spot; point, degree
金 jīn gold; metals in general; money
成 chéng completed, finished, fixed
铁 tiě iron; strong, solid, firm