Barmecide (feast) Hear it!

Barmecide (feast) definition

Bar·mecide· (feast) (bär′mə sīd′)

  1. a pretended feast with no food
  2. any pretended or illusory generosity or hospitality

Etymology: after a prince in The Arabian Nights who served such a feast

Related Forms:

  • Barmecidal Bar′·mecid′·al (-sīd′'l) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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