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

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

The film’s unconventional narrative construction and big, undeniable centerpiece dance sequence are little more than smoke and mirrors, distracting us from realizing that Flanagan’s script doesn’t have anything new or practical to say.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 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