charade
/ʃəˈrɑːd
/noun
1An absurd pretence intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance: talk of unity was nothing more than a charade...
- Cyril confesses to never taking to parliament as an institution and described it as a charade and a farce.
- This charade of an interview was nothing more than a commercial for appeasement.
- Maybe it's time we dropped the charade and accepted that we're as brash and pushy as any New York cabbie ever was.
Synonyms
farce, pantomime, travesty, mockery, parody, pretence, act, masquerade, sham, fake, false display, show, front, facade
rare simulacrum
1.1 (charades) A game in which players guess a word or phrase from a written or acted clue given for each syllable and for the whole item.Reading and parlour games such as charades are preferred....
- Moll took a moment to try to decipher it, feeling like she was playing an odd parlour game of charades.
- The evening ended with a game of charades with some very unusual and funny pub names to guess.
Origin
Late 18th century: from French, from modern Provençal charrado 'conversation', from charra 'chatter', perhaps of imitative origin.