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