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Etymology
lit. 'for the English to see'. Different historical origins proposed. A popular one connects the expression to the fact that, when England pressured Brazil to end slave trade in the 19th century, the government enacted anti-slavery laws that weren't applied in practice, but still convinced the English that there was some progress against slave trade.

Adjective

 * 1)  mostly demagogic or symbolic and with little to no effect in practice