Definitions for bread and circuses
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Random House Webster's College Dictionary
bread′ and cir′cuses(n.pl.)
something offered so as to pacify discontent or divert attention from a grievance.
Category: Common Vocabulary
Origin of bread and circuses:
trans. of L pānis et circēnsēs; from a remark by Juvenal on the limited desires of the Roman populace
Wiktionary
bread and circuses(Noun)
Food and entertainment provided by the state.
Origin: 1914 translation of the Roman poet Juvenal's remark panem et circenses. ("Duas tantum res anxius optat, Panem et circenses" )
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