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

It's as Potemkin Village-ish a piece of journalistic writing as I've seen in a long time.

From The Daily Beast

The lobbyist-journalist-politician scandal has dynamited the Potemkin village that is Indian journalism.

From The Daily Beast

It was a Potemkin Village of technology, camera-ready but a long way short of leaving the ground.

From The Daily Beast

For years, critics scoffed at Amazon.com and Jeff Bezos, dismissing the online retailer as an Information Age Potemkin Village.

From The Daily Beast