parlour trick
3
6.7
- noun
- /ˈpɑːrlər trɪk/
- UK
:
truco de salón
- At the party, he amazed everyone with a simple parlour trick involving disappearing coins.
- a little parlour trick
- just a parlour trick
A computer can be programmed to perform certain parlour tricks, but that doesn't mean that it has a mind, understanding, or consciousness.
- A computer can be programmed to perform certain parlour tricks, but that doesn't mean that it has a mind, understanding, or consciousness.
Examples
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Your impressive parlor tricks.
-
It's one of his parlor tricks.
Fiction book (1995) -
Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?
-
This is some kind of parlor trick.
-
You fell for a parlour trick.
-
But in naive hands it is merely a parlour trick
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Leigh, save us the parlor tricks.
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Impersonations were merely a parlor trick.
Blog text (11) -
A clever parlor trick?
Fiction book (1992) -
It's a neat parlor trick, but you can't use it as a litmus test for a "real artist" or "real programmer."
Blog text (20)
Synonyms
255
2.3
A clever act that looks like magic and entertains people
29
2.7
A performance that looks impossible and surprises people
3
9.9
A performance using quick, skilled hand movements to do magic tricks
1
4.9
A magic trick that seems to break natural rules to surprise and amuse people
How Elaborate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is compositionally built from 'parlor' (a room for entertaining guests) + 'trick' (a performed illusion), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a simple/informal magic performance given in a social setting. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common compositional pattern (place + action), making the meaning directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Parlour trick comes from old homes where the parlour was the room for guests and small shows. People would perform a simple trick there to amuse friends, so the phrase now means a small, showy act meant 'to entertain' friends or guests.