for show
39
6.7
- idiom
- Informal
- This decoration is just for show and doesn't have any practical use.
- only for show
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Watch on YouTubeYou know what I do that's just for show.
- You know what I do that's just for show.
- So, yeah, I, I think this was very much for show.
- And I was like, oh, my God, was this whole thing for show?
- It's like more for show and style than it is for function has been my my, you know, sense around these.
- And I, I think, I think it's, I think it's just for show.
- That's the top line, the top line for show.
Examples
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This is just for show.
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On the dining room table was a bowl of red grapes and walnuts, for show only; nothing anyone would eat.
Fiction book (1990) -
But this board is just for show, OK?
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This here is just for show.
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We will send some security just for show.
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But the government inquiry is all for show, as far as I'm concerned.
Blog text (13) -
While the museum windows apparently had burglar bars, they were more for show than anything else.
Blog text (13) -
Well, these medals aren't just for show.
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It's just for show, Arlo told her, in case we get company, but she was unconvinced.
Fiction book (2001) -
Another pathetic dog-and-pony show. "In today's world of media events and photo opportunities, everything's for show," Kyle says slowly and reasonably.
Fiction book (1994)
Antonyms
How Genuine
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally derivable: 'for' marks purpose and 'show' means a display, so 'for show' naturally reads as 'for the purpose of display/appearance.' This straightforward for + noun purpose construction is common in English (and mirrors patterns in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will likely infer the idiom's meaning.
Etymology
For show comes from the image of putting pretty things where guests can see them, like a vase on a table that is never used. So, something done for show is there 'to impress others' and not 'useful'.