The correct answer is A) it referred to a time that was characterized by bribery and corruption.
One reason gilded is a satirical reference is because it referred to a time that was characterized by bribery and corruption.
The Gilded Age was a name used to refer a moment in time in the United States were bribery and corruption were dominant practices in business and government during the 1870s to the 1900s. The name was used from a novel written by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley called "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today." A satire that referred to the mentioned problems in American society.
