euqinimod
04/19/10, 05:57 PM
vanity fair (VAN-i-tee fair)
noun: A place characterized by frivolity and ostentation.
Etymology
After Vanity Fair, a fair that lasted all year long in the town of Vanity, in the novel Pilgrim's Progress by writer and preacher John Bunyan (1628-1688). In the fair were traded houses, honors, titles, kingdoms, pleasures, and much more -- sounds like an early version of eBay.
Usage
"[The Millionaire Fair] was a vanity fair of thin beautiful women sporting mink fur coats and low necklines decorated with glittering jewelry and dark-suited, elegant men shadowed by beefy bodyguards." — Maria Danilova; In Moscow, A Nouveau Riche Showcase; The Associated Press; Nov 3, 2006.
"In one corner was Karl Rove, presidential adviser and global-warming denier. In the opposite corner was the An Inconvenient Truth tag team of singer Sheryl Crow and documentary producer Laurie David. Their encounter took place Saturday night in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, a vanity fair for journalists, politicos, and celebrities." — The Lightning Round; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Apr 24, 2007.
--www.answers.com
noun: A place characterized by frivolity and ostentation.
Etymology
After Vanity Fair, a fair that lasted all year long in the town of Vanity, in the novel Pilgrim's Progress by writer and preacher John Bunyan (1628-1688). In the fair were traded houses, honors, titles, kingdoms, pleasures, and much more -- sounds like an early version of eBay.
Usage
"[The Millionaire Fair] was a vanity fair of thin beautiful women sporting mink fur coats and low necklines decorated with glittering jewelry and dark-suited, elegant men shadowed by beefy bodyguards." — Maria Danilova; In Moscow, A Nouveau Riche Showcase; The Associated Press; Nov 3, 2006.
"In one corner was Karl Rove, presidential adviser and global-warming denier. In the opposite corner was the An Inconvenient Truth tag team of singer Sheryl Crow and documentary producer Laurie David. Their encounter took place Saturday night in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, a vanity fair for journalists, politicos, and celebrities." — The Lightning Round; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Apr 24, 2007.
--www.answers.com