To deck out gaudily or tastelessly; to dress up excessively with showy ornaments.
From 'be-' prefix plus 'gaud' (from Latin 'gaudium,' joy, but in English meaning a showy ornament). The verb means to cover or adorn with gaudy, flashy decorations.
This delightful insult of a word captures the Victorian distaste for excess—to 'begaud' something is to smother it in cheap glitter and garish decorations, making something ugly by trying too hard to make it beautiful.
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