1.
transparent sham; clumsy trick; farce
A poorly executed deception or performance that is easily seen through, like a monkey imitating a human play.
そんな猿芝居は通用しない。
That kind of transparent sham won't work.
彼の泣き真似は猿芝居だとすぐわかった。
I could immediately tell his fake crying was a transparent act.
政治家たちの猿芝居にはもううんざりだと国民は感じている。
The public is fed up with the politicians' farcical charades.
Literally "monkey play" — from the image of trained monkeys performing crude imitations of human theater. The word emphasizes that the deception is transparent and unconvincing, often implying contempt for the attempt.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 猿芝居をする: to put on a sham
- 猿芝居を見抜く: to see through a sham
- 猿芝居に騙される: to be fooled by a sham
- くだらない猿芝居: a worthless charade
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 茶番: farce, sham — similar in meaning but without the animal imagery; often used for absurd situations
- 芝居がかった: theatrical, melodramatic — describes exaggerated behavior that seems rehearsed
- 見え透いた嘘: a transparent lie — focuses on the lie itself rather than the performance