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Synonyms

smoke and mirrors

American  

noun

  1. (used with a singular or plural verb) something that distorts or blurs facts, figures, etc., like a magic or conjuring trick; artful deception.

smoke and mirrors British  

noun

  1. irrelevant or misleading information serving to obscure the truth of a situation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of smoke and mirrors

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Smoke and mirrors proliferate, but you are welcomed in as a full participant in the seductive play.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2024

Smoke and mirrors … a five-way portrait of Marcel Duchamp at the Broadway Photo Shop in New York, 1917.

From The Guardian • Feb. 15, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.