POTEMKIN VILLAGE

PRONUNCIATION:
(po-TEM-kin VIL-ij)

MEANING:
noun: An impressive showy facade designed to mask undesirable facts.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Prince Grigory Potemkin, who erected cardboard villages to fool Empress Catherine II during her visit to Ukraine and Crimea in 1787. Earliest documented use: 1904.


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POTEMKIN PILLAGE - what happens before the creation of the false front

POSTEMKIN VILLAGE - after the truth comes out