Potemkin village

or Po·tem·kin Vil·lage

[ poh-tem-kin vil-ij, puh‐ ]

noun

1. a pretentiously showy or imposing façade intended to mask or divert attention from an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Potemkin village¹

1935–40; after Prince Potëmkin ( def ), who allegedly had villages of cardboard constructed for Catherine II's visit to the Ukraine and the Crimea in 1787

Example Sentences

Mr. McConnell suggested the program was a “profoundly tone-deaf” idea to create amid high inflation and compared the program to a Potemkin village designed to deceive American taxpayers.

From Washington Times

The town has been compared to a Potemkin village, to Brigadoon, to a “feudal Disneyland” and to the town in the movie “The Truman Show.”

From New York Times

"All the lies and propaganda, the talk of 'special operations' and swift victories - all that was just a facade, like a Potemkin village."

From Reuters

One team encountered a Potemkin village of Russian hardware, officials said, with dozens of parked tanks accompanied by a small security detail.

From Washington Post

But behind the walls of the Democratic Party's Potemkin village stands the billionaire class.

From Salon