gimmick
noun /ˈɡɪmɪk/
/ˈɡɪmɪk/
(often disapproving)- an unusual trick or unnecessary device that is intended to attract attention or to persuade people to buy something
- a promotional/publicity/sales gimmick
- We don’t use gimmicks to sell our products.
- The promise of lower taxation may have been just an election gimmick to gain votes.
- a new gimmick to encourage people to go to the cinema
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- latest
- new
- election
- …
- just a gimmick
- nothing more than a gimmick
- only a gimmick
- …
Word Origin1920s (originally US): of unknown origin but possibly an approximate anagram of magic, the original sense being ‘a piece of magicians' apparatus’.