window dressing

Definition

The decorative display of retail merchandise in store windows; the goods and trimmings used in such a display.

Example Sentences

• "The linen-draper at the corner under the town clock was divided between keeping an eye on his apprentices to see that they did not spar with yard sticks, and mentally criticising the ludicrous and meretricious window-dressing of his next-door neighbour."
• "[…] a shop where a shingle could be had for two shillings in the same building as a coffin-maker’s who worked in oak, elm or lead: no window-dressing but one child’s coffin dusty with disuse and the list of hairdressing prices."
• "On Sundays when the Red Light District is closed until 6 P.M., many Dutch families use the window dressings as the textbook for their children’s sex education."

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