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Potemkin village

a false front or facade

Origin: after Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, who it is said built fake villages to deceive Catherine the Great about his accomplishments

See Potemkin village in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Something that appears elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lacks substance: “the Potemkin village of this country's borrowed prosperity” (Lewis H. Lapham).

Origin:

Origin: After Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, who had elaborate fake villages constructed for Catherine the Great's tours of the Ukraine and the Crimea

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Potemkin village

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