Idiom
all fur coat and no knickers
Meaning
Having a superficially positive appearance that is belied by the reality, e.g., superficially elegant and beautiful but actually common.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That restaurant looks fancy, but it's all fur coat and no knickers.”
“The new manager talks about professionalism, but he's all fur coat and no knickers — he never does any real work.”
“The mansion impressed visitors with its marble entrance and crystal chandeliers, yet those who knew its history understood it was all fur coat and no knickers, built on debt and petty cruelties.”
Examples
simple
“That restaurant looks fancy, but it's all fur coat and no knickers.”
contextual
“The new manager talks about professionalism, but he's all fur coat and no knickers — he never does any real work.”
complex
“The mansion impressed visitors with its marble entrance and crystal chandeliers, yet those who knew its history understood it was all fur coat and no knickers, built on debt and petty cruelties.”
Key words
Related idioms
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