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Keyser Soze Keyser Soze is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Dec 2015
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Default Dictionary lesson of the day...

TRUMPERY

Trumpery derives from the Middle English trompery and ultimately from
the Middle French tromper, meaning “to deceive.” (You can see the
meaning of this root reflected in the French phrase
trompe-l’oeil-literally, “deceives the eye”-which in English refers to a
style of painting with photographically realistic detail.) Trumpery
first appeared in English in the mid-15th century with the meanings
“deceit or fraud” (a sense that is now obsolete) and “worthless
nonsense.” Less than 100 years later, it was being applied to material
objects of little or no value. The verb phrase trump up means “to
concoct with the intent to deceive,” but there is most likely no
etymological connection between this phrase and trumpery.

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