Barnumize

barnumize English Alternative forms en Barnumise en barnumize Etymology From the surname of P. T. Barnum, a 19th century American showman who co-founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus, en ize. Verb To enliven something, especially a spectacle or attraction. en Reinhardt at Salzburg The New York Times 3 September 1922 There is nothing unusual at first appearance of this man who Barnumized the Classics and shook them and modern stage production into a new vitality. To dumb down, cheapen, or vulgarize something, especially to create entertainment that appeals to coarse or unsophisticated tastes. en John Husar Collins, LaPaglia save fight for ring Chicago Tribune 19 March 1983 Kushner expects his boxers to make nasty remarks, scripted or otherwise, to Barnumize their sport in the manner of Bob Luce's version of wrestling promising gore for the paying fools. To promote with bombast, exaggeration, or outright falsehood; to hype or sensationalize. en 1864 w:James Russell Lowell http://books.google.com/books?id=xEU4AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA92 General McClellan's Report Political Essays Houghton, Mifflin and Company 1890 They went to work deliberately to Barnumize their prospective candidate. No prima donna was ever more thoroughly exploited by her Hebrew impresario. The papers swarmed with anecdotes, incidents, sayings. Nothing was too unimportant, and the new commander-in-chief pulled on his boots by telegram from Maine to California, and picked his teeth by special dispatch from the Associated Press. To obtain money through fraudulent or deceitful means; to swindle or con. en Barnum Had Tact, Regardless http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i_UoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ItQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1524,6419373 The Southeast Missourian 19 October 1927 Looking in retrospect over his career, old P. T. Barnum was equally frank, but he had a way of making people unaware of the fact that they were being buncoed while the buncoing was going on. And the Barnumizing operation of extracting money from the curious will be more successful today if it is made less palapably painful. To spread inaccurate or false information. en Mrs. Walter Ferguson Being Unhappy http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8CEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hksEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3409,2890620 The Pittsburgh Press 23 August 1935 The psychiatrists are getting beyond their depth when they begin computing feminine unhappiness. So when we read that some professor finds 98 per cent of us drooping with sorrow, I think we may safely charge him with Barnumizing. To seek or attract attention, especially through ostentation. en Glenn Frank On Pretending to Die http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ElFfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g1cNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3794,3427274 Youngstown Vindicator 19 March 1926 Mangin turned himself into an eccentric figure, and Barnumized the business of selling pencils."He attracted attention," says Mr. Dreier, "by driving about the streets in an ornamented carriage drawn by two bay horses."With the help of a servant he changed his clothes in plain sight, substituting a medieval costume for his business suit. Related terms en Barnumization Anagrams en abeimnruz Burmanize en eponyms