parlor trick
noun
variants
US parlor trick
or British parlour trick
plural parlor tricks
: a usually simple trick or demonstration that is used especially to entertain or amuse guests
… this book … includes classic parlor tricks such as piercing a balloon with a needle without popping it, and yanking a tablecloth out from under bottles and plates.—
Dolly Setton
—sometimes used figurativelyDolly SettonTheir game is an illusion, a political parlor trick: Hold down funding for key priorities, such as K-12 education, or universities, and then when revenues create a surplus, call it an "overpayment" by taxpayers.—Mike Owen
Mike OwenMethods of reporting change, and with the fierce competition of the Internet age, many reporters have resorted to ambush journalism or other parlor tricks.—David Yas
David YasExamples of parlor trick in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And still, the album’s greatest parlor trick has less to do with technique than with Big’s raw charisma.
—Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
The next phase in the AI journey will be an exciting one in which businesses move beyond impressive demos and AI parlor tricks and start reimagining workflows to solve core business problems, delivering significant value.
—Anand Logani, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Parlor tricks met with parlor tricks—robots talking with robots, writing synthetic words for audiences that will never read them.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
Prodigious power and torque are not this Bentley’s only parlor tricks.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 11 Feb. 2025
The star who has gotten into killer shape for his Marvel films is notorious for his dedication and focus, as well as for his signature parlor trick: a backflip.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 2 Jan. 2025
But Musgraves doesn’t need those sort of parlor tricks to put her songs across.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 28 Sep. 2024
The irony is that the very moment the danger becomes real for Jack — when his seemingly harmless trifling with the darkness stops being just for show — is also the fakest moment of the film, a mere parlor trick itself.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
The next phase in the AI journey will be an exciting one in which businesses move beyond impressive demos and AI parlor tricks and start reimagining workflows to solve core business problems, delivering significant value.
—Anand Logani, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Parlor tricks met with parlor tricks—robots talking with robots, writing synthetic words for audiences that will never read them.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
Prodigious power and torque are not this Bentley’s only parlor tricks.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 11 Feb. 2025
The star who has gotten into killer shape for his Marvel films is notorious for his dedication and focus, as well as for his signature parlor trick: a backflip.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 2 Jan. 2025
But Musgraves doesn’t need those sort of parlor tricks to put her songs across.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 28 Sep. 2024
The irony is that the very moment the danger becomes real for Jack — when his seemingly harmless trifling with the darkness stops being just for show — is also the fakest moment of the film, a mere parlor trick itself.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Parlor trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parlor%20trick. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share