Wiktionary
vb. 1 To decorate the window of a shop 2 To give something superficial attractiveness
WordNet
v. make something appear superficially attractive; "The researcher tried to dress up the uninteresting data"; "Don't try to dress up the unpleasant truth" [syn: dress up]
Usage examples of "window-dress".
A casual reference that seems aimed at Latin America is a bit of window-dressing, a booby-trap for compromisers, upon which they did pounce eagerly.
Such was Stephen Thorle, a governess in the nursery of Chelsea-bred religions, a skilled window-dresser in the emporium of his own personality, and needless to say, evanescently popular amid a wide but shifting circle of acquaintances.
Depending on how well he did in his Problematics courses – Applied Logic, Applied Rhetoric, Medical Ethics and Terminology, Applied Semantics, Relativistics and Advanced Mischaracterization, Comparative Cultural Psychology, and the rest – he’d have a choice between well-paid window-dressing for a big Corp or flimsy cut-rate stuff for a borderline one.