bread and circuses

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They’re capitalist endeavors, not charity cases, whose stated mission is to provide bread and circuses to the masses while making as much profit as possible in the process.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2025

Then again, it's pretty easy to pull off this feat in a society sated only by bread and circuses.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2023

“Give them food and cake and they won’t revolt?” she said, paraphrasing the ancient saying about bread and circuses.

From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2022

But you are certainly not the only person who, when blessed with a larger paycheck, chooses not to spend it all on high-end bread and circuses.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2021

It required a great deal of money to support the luxurious court of the emperors and their innumerable officials and servants, and to supply "bread and circuses" for the populace of the towns.

From An Introduction to the History of Western Europe by Robinson, James Harvey