window dressing

noun

1. the art, act, or technique of trimming the display windows of a store.

2. misrepresentation of something, so as to give a favorable impression.

   The company's list of assets included a great deal of window dressing.

window-dressing

noun

1. the ornamentation of shop windows, designed to attract customers

2. the pleasant, showy, or false aspect of an idea, policy, etc, which is stressed to conceal the real or unpleasant nature; façade

Word History and Origins

Origin of window-dressing¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Spotify knew or should have known “with reasonable diligence, that fraudulent activities were occurring on its platform,” states the lawsuit, describing the streamer’s policies to root out fraud as “window dressing.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"If you take away the gadgets, the mobile phones and the laptops, essentially remove all the window dressing, it's still the same story. It's just been updated."

Read more on BBC

Maury exploited his scientific acumen to contend for the truth of insane white supremacy beliefs, often with distorted biblical window dressing.

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During his five years in New York, he worked other jobs too: window dressing at Bergdorf Goodman and leading tours around the city.

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I prepared myself for an uninspiring visit where the art was mere window dressing to sell window dressings.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal