the.com/trappings
The costume of success, worn by people hoping no one checks the script.
means The outward signs and accessories of a role or status — the cars, titles, and décor — rather than the substance behind them.
from From Middle English 'trapping,' the decorative cloth draped over a horse's harness, itself from Old French 'drap' (cloth) — the same root that gives us 'drape' and 'drapery.' So trappings were, quite literally, fancy fabric thrown over an animal to make it look grander than its plain tack beneath — the word has been pointing at surface decoration over substance from the very start.
- origin
- from trap, meaning ornamental horse cloth
- implies
- decoration without the substance underneath
- usage tell
- almost always paired with of power or success
- linguistic cousin
- same root as drapery, not entrapment