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Thesis-writer and native speaker here. My advisor did not like my use of the phrase "embellish on the theme of," insisting that the verb "embellish" cannot be used that way. I think I first learned the phrase during piano lessons as a kid, and I've used it in my brain-thoughts thousands of time, but now I'm not sure if it's too jargony for a math thesis. Can anyone point me to non-musical sources that use this phrase? Or perhaps another version of this phrase that requires less musical knowledge?

Additional context: I searched for "embellish on the theme of" (with quotes) in Google and it returned only 3 results. That surprises me.

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  • I believe that musically, one more typically improvises on a theme.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Jan 22, 2018 at 3:07
  • Hmm... but you can "embellish a melody," yes?
    – user277535
    Commented Jan 22, 2018 at 3:13
  • I would say so, yes. That should also mean to change it a little in some custom fashion.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Jan 22, 2018 at 3:13

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Your advisor is correct. You embellish a theme, (direct object) not on it (prepositional object).

Perhaps you are confusing it with "elaborate"? You could elaborate on a theme.

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  • A prepositional object is not the same thing as an indirect object. When you give a dog a bone, you have an indirect object, but when give a bone to a dog, there is none.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Jan 22, 2018 at 3:52
  • I must have been mixing it with "improvise on.". Thanks! (By the way, his objection was not to the preposition, but rather my use of embellish in that context...)
    – user277535
    Commented Jan 22, 2018 at 4:28

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