bread and circuses
noun
something, as extravagant entertainment, offered as an expedient means of pacifying discontent or diverting attention from a source of grievance.
Nearby words
breach of promise, breach of the peace, breach of trust, bread, bread and butter, bread and circuses, bread and honey, bread flour, bread knife, bread line, bread mold
Origin of bread and circuses
1910–15; translation of Latin pānis et circēnsēs; from a remark by the Roman satirist Juvenal on the limited desires of the Roman populace
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Culture definitions for bread and circuses
bread and circuses
A phrase used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began: “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” The government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles. (See Colosseum.)
Note
“Bread and circuses” has become a convenient general term for government policies that seek short-term solutions to public unrest.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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