Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dog and pony show

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English

Syllables: dog and pony show
IPA

28

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

1

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small traveling circus featuring animals as entertainment.

noun

Any presentation or display that is overly contrived or intricate, while lacking real substance.

Example Sentences

"They put on a whole dog and pony show for the investors, but I'm not sure they've convinced anyone."
"Here, the academics put on a bit of a dog-and-pony show, demonstrating their latest breakthroughs and giving sponsors a chance to meet students who are about to receive their PhDs and start looking for jobs.[…]"
"Look, I know this may all seem somewhat untoward, and we can go through a whole dog-and-pony show here where I pretend that this column exists as a forum for ideas, and that I act as an independent voice who isn't beholden to advertisers, and the power of the First Amendment, and blah blah, etc. etc. But let's get real for a second here, okay?"

Inflected Forms

dog and pony shows (plural) dog-and-pony show (alternative)

Questions

What does dog and pony show mean?: A small traveling circus featuring animals as entertainment.

How to pronounce dog and pony show

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dog and pony show”.
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