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spectacle

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rose-coloured spectacles

An unduly idealistic, optimistic, sentimental, or wistful perspective on or about something. Primarily heard in UK. I know Sarah looks on our childhood with rose-coloured spectacles, but I can't put aside how difficult my parents' failing marriage was for all of us. Despite doing worse every quarter for the last two years, our boss keeps seeing the business through rose-coloured spectacles. You need to take off your rose-coloured spectacles for a moment and realise that there are serious problems in the world that need fixing.

See also: spectacle

rose-tinted spectacles

An unduly idealistic, optimistic, sentimental, or wistful perspective on or about something. Primarily heard in UK. I know Sarah looks on our childhood with rose-tinted spectacles, but I can't put aside how difficult my parents' failing marriage was for all of us. Despite doing worse every quarter for the last two years, our boss keeps seeing the business through rose-tinted spectacles. You need to take off your rose-tinted spectacles for a moment and realise that there are serious problems in the world that need fixing.

See also: spectacle

make a spectacle of yourself

to do something that attracts people's attention and makes you look stupid She did not scream and shout or otherwise make a spectacle of herself.

Related vocabulary: make a fool of yourself

See also: make, of, spectacle

rose-coloured glasses

  (British & Australian) also rose-colored glasses/rose-coloured spectacles (American & Australian/British)

if someone thinks about or looks at something with rose-coloured glasses, they think it is more pleasant than it really is She's nostalgic for a past that she sees through rose-colored glasses.

See also: glass

rose-tinted glasses

  (British, American & Australian) also rose-tinted spectacles (British)

if someone looks at something through rose-tinted glasses, they see only the pleasant parts of it She has always looked at life through rose-tinted glasses.

See also: glass

make a spectacle of yourself

to do something that makes you look stupid and attracts other people's attention I wasn't going to make a spectacle of myself by dancing with my grandma!

See also: make, of, spectacle