farce

It has always been a bit of a farce, the way America’s right-wing libertarians speak up for “freedom” only when a government, led by Democrats, is explicitly involved.

The Highlands and Islands MSP, speaking during time set aside to agree the parliamentary business programme, described the summit as a "sham" and a "farce".

And America’s largest institutions, from its sports leagues to its universities, play along with this farce in the name of national unity.

No 10 doesn't imagine that the damage of the last fortnight of farce is limited to those who have departed government.

But farce is a universal language, and the hilarity is not just translated but alchemized into something riotously contemporary.