smoke and mirrors

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He accused a minority of peers of deliberate time-wasting, and urged them to "stop all this smoke and mirrors and focus on making the bill better".

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

It’s all smoke and mirrors, sure, but there’s a certain comfort in a life after death where Patrick Swayze can still spin pottery!

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025

Gabriel could have come across as a mere cipher in this environment, a faceless spook navigating smoke and mirrors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

"Neuralink is currently just smoke and mirrors, with a lot of hype," Herve Chneiweiss, a neurologist and expert in ethics at France's research organisation INSERM, told AFP.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

But maybe being able to say “I love you” was just smoke and mirrors compared to having a living being under your fingers.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer