"bread and circuses" meaning in English

See bread and circuses in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsəː.kəs.əz/ [Received-Pronunciation], /-iz/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsɚ.kə.səz/ [General-American], /-kɪ.səz/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bread and circuses.wav
Etymology: From Latin panem et circenses (literally “bread and circuses”), a reference to Satire 10 of the Roman poet Juvenal’s Satires (early 2nd century C.E.). The relevant passage states: “… nam qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses” (“[F]or that sovereign people that once gave away military command, consulships, legions, and every thing, now bridles its desires, and limits its anxious longings to two things only,—bread, and the games of the circus!”). Juvenal was commenting that the Roman people no longer cared for political involvement, and were satisfied with cheap food and entertainment provided by politicians. Etymology templates: {{der|en|la|panem et circenses|lit=bread and circuses}} Latin panem et circenses (literally “bread and circuses”), {{C.E.}} C.E., {{nb...|with Notes, Chronological Tables, Arguments, &c. by the Rev. Lewis Evans, M.A. Late Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. To which is Added the Metrical Version of Juvenal and Persius, by the Late William Gifford, Esq.}} […], {{nb...|York Street, Covent Garden.}} […] Head templates: {{en-noun|p|head=bread and circuses}} bread and circuses pl (plural only)
  1. (idiomatic) Food and entertainment provided by the state, particularly if intended to placate the people. Tags: idiomatic, plural, plural-only Synonyms: bread and games Translations (food and entertainment provided by the state): ogia eta zirku (Basque), bara ha c'hoarioù (Breton), pa i circ (Catalan), 麵包與馬戲 (Chinese Mandarin), 面包与马戏 (miànbāo yǔ mǎxì) (Chinese Mandarin), chléb a hry (Czech), brød och skuespel (Danish), brood en spelen (Dutch), pano kaj ludoj (Esperanto), leib ja tsirkus (Estonian), leipä ja sirkushuvit (Finnish), du pain et des jeux (French), Brot und Zirkusspiele (German), Brot und Spiele (German), άρτον και θεάματα (árton kai theámata) (Greek), לֶחֶם וְשַׁעֲשׁוּעִים (lekhem vesha'ashu'im) (Hebrew), brauði og leikum (Icelandic), パンとサーカス (pan to sākasu) (Japanese), panem et circenses (Latin), de pan e de jòcs (Occitan), pão e circo [masculine] (Portuguese), pâine și circ (Romanian), хлеба и игара [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), хљеба и игара [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), круха и игара [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), hleba i igara [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), hljeba i igara [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), kruha i igara [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), pan y circo (Spanish), bröd och skådespel (Swedish), ekmek ve sirkler (Turkish), ekmek ve sirk oyunları (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-bread_and_circuses-en-noun-ty8bS-Ud Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English pluralia tantum, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Basque translations, Terms with Belarusian translations, Terms with Breton translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Estonian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Occitan translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Romanian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Terms with Ukrainian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 92 8 Disambiguation of English pluralia tantum: 71 29 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 88 12 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 88 12 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 92 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Basque translations: 73 27 Disambiguation of Terms with Belarusian translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with Breton translations: 73 27 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 71 29 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 68 32 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Estonian translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 90 10 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Hebrew translations: 84 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 73 27 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 65 35 Disambiguation of Terms with Occitan translations: 82 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 68 32 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with Romanian translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 75 25 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 93 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 74 26 Disambiguation of Terms with Ukrainian translations: 73 27 Disambiguation of 'food and entertainment provided by the state': 99 1
  2. (by extension) Grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people. Tags: broadly, plural, plural-only Translations (grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people): pão e circo [masculine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-bread_and_circuses-en-noun-aLuptbxj Categories (other): English coordinated pairs Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 40 60 Disambiguation of 'grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people': 3 97
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          "text": "The government of William Ewart Gladstone may not supply the people, as the Roman emperors did, with \"bread and circuses,\" but if giving them plenty to talk about can satisfy a nation, we Britishers ought just now to be very happy. A whole week is never permitted to elapse without some piece of political gaucherie being enacted for the public amusement.",
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          "ref": "1877, Amelia B[lanford] Edwards, “Cairo and the Mecca Pilgrimage”, in A Thousand Miles up the Nile, London: Longmans, Green, & Co., →OCLC, page 35:",
          "text": "Take a Mahommedan at his devotions, and he is a model of religious abstraction; [...] but see him in his hours of relaxation, or on the occasion of a public holiday, and he is as garrulous and full of laughter as a big child. Like a child, too, he loves noise and movement for the mere sake of noise and movement, and looks upon swings and fireworks as the height of human felicity. Now swings and fireworks are Arabic for bread and circuses, and our pleb's passion for them is insatiable.",
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          "text": "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.",
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        "Food and entertainment provided by the state, particularly if intended to placate the people."
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        "(idiomatic) Food and entertainment provided by the state, particularly if intended to placate the people."
      ],
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        {
          "word": "bread and games"
        }
      ],
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        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "ogia eta zirku"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "note": "хле́ба і відо́вішчаў (xljéba i vidóviščaŭ) (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
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          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "bara ha c'hoarioù"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "pa i circ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "麵包與馬戲"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "miànbāo yǔ mǎxì",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "面包与马戏"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "chléb a hry"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "brød och skuespel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "brood en spelen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "pano kaj ludoj"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "leib ja tsirkus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "leipä ja sirkushuvit"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "du pain et des jeux"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "Brot und Zirkusspiele"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "Brot und Spiele"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "árton kai theámata",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "άρτον και θεάματα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "lekhem vesha'ashu'im",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "לֶחֶם וְשַׁעֲשׁוּעִים"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "brauði og leikum"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "pan to sākasu",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "パンとサーカス"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "panem et circenses"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "de pan e de jòcs"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "note": "chleba i igrzysk (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pão e circo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "pâine și circ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "хле́ба и зре́лищ (xléba i zrélišč) (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "хлеба и игара"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "хљеба и игара"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "круха и игара"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "note": "крува и игара (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ]
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "hleba i igara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "hljeba i igara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "kruha i igara"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "note": "kruva i igara (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ]
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "pan y circo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "bröd och skådespel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "ekmek ve sirkler"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
          "word": "ekmek ve sirk oyunları"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "note": "хлі́ба і видо́вищ (xlíba i vydóvyšč) (only in genitive case)",
          "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1950, Willford I[sbel] King, “The Something-for-nothing Deception”, in The Right Way to Provide Security against Illness and Old Age, [New York, N.Y.]: Committee for Constitutional Government, →OCLC, page 1:",
          "text": "One thing which this study makes evident is that the Welfare State fantasy is usually conjured up by some scheming politician posing as a public benefactor and using \"bread and circuses\", paid for by the people's own money, to buy the support of the populace.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 April 30, Jonathan Meades, “Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Militant Modernism, Owen Hatherley, Zero Books, 146pp, £9.99 [book review]”, in New Statesman, London: New Statesman Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-09-21:",
          "text": "But is populism actually popular? Or is it simply sedative patronisation, bread and circuses devised by a cynical caste of free marketeers who presumptuously underestimate the collective intellect?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 July 10, Henry Deedes, “It felt like seeing the Head Boy debate the class clown”, in Daily Mail, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-07-17:",
          "text": "At one rather telling point, [Jeremy] Hunt accused Boris [Johnson] of 'peddling optimism' by trying to guarantee we would definitely leave the EU on October 31. Boris's bread-and-circuses response – 'People want a bit of optimism, Jeremy!' – drew wild applause from the 200-odd crowd.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people."
      ],
      "id": "en-bread_and_circuses-en-noun-aLuptbxj",
      "links": [
        [
          "Grand",
          "grand"
        ],
        [
          "spectacle",
          "spectacle"
        ],
        [
          "staged",
          "stage#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "statement",
          "statement"
        ],
        [
          "distract",
          "distract"
        ],
        [
          "pacify",
          "pacify"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 97",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pão e circo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsəː.kəs.əz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-iz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bread and circuses.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/69/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/69/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsɚ.kə.səz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-kɪ.səz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Juvenal"
  ],
  "word": "bread and circuses"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English coordinated pairs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English pluralia tantum",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Basque translations",
    "Terms with Belarusian translations",
    "Terms with Breton translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Estonian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hebrew translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Occitan translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Romanian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "panem et circenses",
        "lit": "bread and circuses"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin panem et circenses (literally “bread and circuses”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "C.E.",
      "name": "C.E."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "with Notes, Chronological Tables, Arguments, &c. by the Rev. Lewis Evans, M.A. Late Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. To which is Added the Metrical Version of Juvenal and Persius, by the Late William Gifford, Esq."
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "York Street, Covent Garden."
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin panem et circenses (literally “bread and circuses”), a reference to Satire 10 of the Roman poet Juvenal’s Satires (early 2nd century C.E.). The relevant passage states: “… nam qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses” (“[F]or that sovereign people that once gave away military command, consulships, legions, and every thing, now bridles its desires, and limits its anxious longings to two things only,—bread, and the games of the circus!”). Juvenal was commenting that the Roman people no longer cared for political involvement, and were satisfied with cheap food and entertainment provided by politicians.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "p",
        "head": "bread and circuses"
      },
      "expansion": "bread and circuses pl (plural only)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "bread"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "[1873 January 11, “English Gossip”, in Harper’s Bazar. A Repository of Fashion, Pleasure, and Instruction, volume VI, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 30, column 4:",
          "text": "The government of William Ewart Gladstone may not supply the people, as the Roman emperors did, with \"bread and circuses,\" but if giving them plenty to talk about can satisfy a nation, we Britishers ought just now to be very happy. A whole week is never permitted to elapse without some piece of political gaucherie being enacted for the public amusement.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1877, Amelia B[lanford] Edwards, “Cairo and the Mecca Pilgrimage”, in A Thousand Miles up the Nile, London: Longmans, Green, & Co., →OCLC, page 35:",
          "text": "Take a Mahommedan at his devotions, and he is a model of religious abstraction; [...] but see him in his hours of relaxation, or on the occasion of a public holiday, and he is as garrulous and full of laughter as a big child. Like a child, too, he loves noise and movement for the mere sake of noise and movement, and looks upon swings and fireworks as the height of human felicity. Now swings and fireworks are Arabic for bread and circuses, and our pleb's passion for them is insatiable.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 March 22, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2019-01-04:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Food and entertainment provided by the state, particularly if intended to placate the people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Food",
          "food"
        ],
        [
          "entertainment",
          "entertainment"
        ],
        [
          "provide",
          "provide"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "placate",
          "placate"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "person"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Food and entertainment provided by the state, particularly if intended to placate the people."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bread and games"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1950, Willford I[sbel] King, “The Something-for-nothing Deception”, in The Right Way to Provide Security against Illness and Old Age, [New York, N.Y.]: Committee for Constitutional Government, →OCLC, page 1:",
          "text": "One thing which this study makes evident is that the Welfare State fantasy is usually conjured up by some scheming politician posing as a public benefactor and using \"bread and circuses\", paid for by the people's own money, to buy the support of the populace.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 April 30, Jonathan Meades, “Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Militant Modernism, Owen Hatherley, Zero Books, 146pp, £9.99 [book review]”, in New Statesman, London: New Statesman Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-09-21:",
          "text": "But is populism actually popular? Or is it simply sedative patronisation, bread and circuses devised by a cynical caste of free marketeers who presumptuously underestimate the collective intellect?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 July 10, Henry Deedes, “It felt like seeing the Head Boy debate the class clown”, in Daily Mail, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-07-17:",
          "text": "At one rather telling point, [Jeremy] Hunt accused Boris [Johnson] of 'peddling optimism' by trying to guarantee we would definitely leave the EU on October 31. Boris's bread-and-circuses response – 'People want a bit of optimism, Jeremy!' – drew wild applause from the 200-odd crowd.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Grand",
          "grand"
        ],
        [
          "spectacle",
          "spectacle"
        ],
        [
          "staged",
          "stage#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "statement",
          "statement"
        ],
        [
          "distract",
          "distract"
        ],
        [
          "pacify",
          "pacify"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsəː.kəs.əz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-iz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bread and circuses.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/69/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/69/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-bread_and_circuses.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɹɛd ənd ˈsɚ.kə.səz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-kɪ.səz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "ogia eta zirku"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "note": "хле́ба і відо́вішчаў (xljéba i vidóviščaŭ) (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
    },
    {
      "code": "br",
      "lang": "Breton",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "bara ha c'hoarioù"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "pa i circ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "麵包與馬戲"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "miànbāo yǔ mǎxì",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "面包与马戏"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "chléb a hry"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "brød och skuespel"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "brood en spelen"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "pano kaj ludoj"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "leib ja tsirkus"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "leipä ja sirkushuvit"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "du pain et des jeux"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "Brot und Zirkusspiele"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "Brot und Spiele"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "árton kai theámata",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "άρτον και θεάματα"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "lekhem vesha'ashu'im",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "לֶחֶם וְשַׁעֲשׁוּעִים"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "brauði og leikum"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "pan to sākasu",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "パンとサーカス"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "panem et circenses"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "de pan e de jòcs"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "note": "chleba i igrzysk (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pão e circo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "pâine și circ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "хле́ба и зре́лищ (xléba i zrélišč) (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "хлеба и игара"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "хљеба и игара"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "круха и игара"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "note": "крува и игара (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "hleba i igara"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "hljeba i igara"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "kruha i igara"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "note": "kruva i igara (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ]
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "pan y circo"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "bröd och skådespel"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "ekmek ve sirkler"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state",
      "word": "ekmek ve sirk oyunları"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "note": "хлі́ба і видо́вищ (xlíba i vydóvyšč) (only in genitive case)",
      "sense": "food and entertainment provided by the state"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "grand spectacles staged or statements made to distract and pacify people",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pão e circo"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Juvenal"
  ],
  "word": "bread and circuses"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bread and circuses meaning in English (13.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.