trumpery

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   showy but worthless objects, ornaments, or finery

   The attic was crowded with broken furniture and dusty trumpery.

2. 2
   noun

   worthless or deceptive talk, writing, or ideas

   The pamphlet dressed its political trumpery in impressive statistics.

From Middle English trompery, borrowed from Middle French tromperie, 'deceit, trickery,' from tromper, 'to deceive.' The sense shifted from deception itself to cheap, showy goods that deceive the eye, and then more broadly to worthless possessions or nonsense.

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