trumpery
[truhm-puh-ree]
- something without use or value; rubbish; trash; worthless stuff.
- nonsense; twaddle: His usual conversation is pure trumpery.
- Archaic. worthless finery.
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- of little or no value; trifling, worthless; rubbishy; trashy.
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Origin of trumpery
1425–75; late Middle English trompery deceit < Middle French tromperie, equivalent to tromp(er) to deceive + -erie -ery
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trumpery
Historical Examples
But I might have known that she could not, all at once, wean herself from the trumpery.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
There's suffering enough, without adding to it with our trumpery judgments!
Joy (First Series Plays)John Galsworthy
Some of them were not trumpery; they were as big as the heavens and the sea.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
Do they imagine that I either knew or cared for their trumpery wager!
BarringtonCharles James Lever
The trumpery thing had seemed a sign to them, and now the sign was broken.
Tristram of BlentAnthony Hope
trumpery
- foolish talk or actions
- a useless or worthless article; trinket
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- useless or worthless
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French tromperie deceit, from tromper to cheat
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
Word Origin and History for trumpery
n.
mid-15c., "deceit, trickery," from Middle French tromperie (14c.), from tromper "to deceive," of uncertain origin. Spelling influenced by trump (v.). Meaning "showy but worthless finery" is first recorded c.1600.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper