What Is the Meaning of Dog and Pony Show

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noun Informal.

an elaborate sales, advertising, or publicity presentation or campaign.

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Origin of dog and pony show

First recorded in 1965–70

Words nearby dog and pony show

doff, doffer, do for, dog, dog and bone, dog and pony show, dog ape, dogbane, dogbane family, dogberry, dog biscuit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

MORE ABOUT DOG AND PONY SHOW

What doesdog and pony show mean?

A dog and pony show, or dog-and-pony show, is an informal phrase used to mean an elaborate presentation or campaign, especially one held to drum up publicity or attention.

Dog and pony show is used to describe advertising campaigns or sales presentations that are trying to impress executives, customers, or investors, as in The young businessmen managed to win over investors with their dog and pony show.

Dog and pony show is also often used jokingly or mockingly to describe something as being unnecessarily showy or flashy while lacking meaning or substance, as in The press conference was nothing but a dog and pony show that failed to answer any important questions.

Example: You need to spice up the demonstration until it becomes a dog and pony show that people won't soon forget.

Where doesdog and pony show come from?

The first records of dog and pony show in its figurative sense come from around 1949. The phrase alludes to traveling variety shows that often used actual dogs and ponies as part of the entertainment.

Did you know ... ?

How isdog and pony show used in real life?

Dog and pony show is often used negatively to describe something as being too elaborate or making a big show of something unimportant.

State Dept. calls North Korean military parades nothing but a "dog and pony show"

— West Wing Reports (edited by Paul Brandus) (@WestWingReport) February 8, 2018

This is not a press conference. It is a dog and pony show.

— JackiSchechner (@JackiSchechner) January 11, 2017

Today was a great day for Major League Baseball. The Braun decision showed the arbitration process works and isn't just a dog and pony show.

— Doug Russell (@DougRussell) February 24, 2012

Try usingdog and pony show!

Is dog and pony show used correctly in the following sentence?

Marty turned Jane's book launch into a dog and pony show by inviting celebrities and hiring a famous band to play music.

How to use dog and pony show in a sentence

  • He said he attended one of the faith-based advisory meetings early on and criticized it as "a dog and pony show."

  • One of the biggest issues startups have with the traditional IPO process is that is that it becomes too much of a dog and pony show.

  • As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.

  • Policemen on the show joke about prison riots, bomb threats, and the shooting of unarmed civilians.

  • As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.

  • As soon as this attack [happened], Paris citizens came together to show were are not afraid, we are Charlie Hebdo.

  • And they might not have to wait that long to show their political heft.

  • A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.

  • A was an Archer, who shot at a frog; B was a Butcher, and had a great dog.

  • None other would dare to show herself unveiled to a stranger, and a white man at that.

  • She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.

  • I shall show how it is possible thus to prolong life to the term set by God.

Other Idioms and Phrases with dog and pony show


An elaborate presentation to gain approval for a product or policy. For example, The administration loved putting on a dog-and-pony show for every minor change of policy. This term alludes to a traveling variety show. [1950s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

What Is the Meaning of Dog and Pony Show

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dog--and--pony--show

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