bread and circuses
English
Etymology
1914 translation of the Roman poet Juvenal's Latin remark panem et circenses (“bread and circuses”)[1].
Noun
bread and circuses pl (plural only)
- Food and entertainment provided by the state.
- Synonym: bread and games
- 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games
- In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay.
- Grand spectacles to distract and pacify people.
Translations
food and entertainment provided by the state
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References
Further reading
bread and circuses on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
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