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• n  optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
• n  something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight)
• n  an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale
• n  a blunder that makes you look ridiculous; used in the phrase `make a spectacle of' yourself

• They became artifacts of a bygone communist order and the lost power of its coercive spectacles.
• A thin Indian man with not much hair sits alone on a bare floor, wearing nothing but a loincloth and a pair of cheap spectacles, studying the clutch of handwritten notes in his .
• Such telescopic spectacles both magnify the print (the optical effect) and seem to bring it closer to the eyes (the psychological effect).

• specs
• eyeglasses
• glasses
• spectacle

News & Articles

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• Eyewear Market (Spectacles, Contact Lenses, Plano Sunglasses) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth And ...
  According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Eyewear Market (Spectacles, Contact Lenses, Plano Sunglasses) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 - 2018," the demand for eyewear products was over 2,600 million units in 2011, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2012 to 2018. Browse the full report at http://www ...
  June 12, 2013 - PRWeb
• Superman Henry Cavill, 'Man of Steel' team keep it real
  At the beginning of "Man of Steel," which opens Friday, this version of the character doesn't wear spectacles, work at The Daily Planet, soar through the skies or own any clothes with a giant S plastered across the chest. He's a drifter. He says more with actions than words, something the 30-year-old star of 2011's "Immortals" completely understands.
  June 11, 2013 - The Oregonian
• Schensul: Animal spectacles around the world
  I thought this might be an opportune time to remember a few Amazing Animal Spectacles. Seasonal, annual, a few-day events that, in a world full of incredi-nature, ratchet up the jaw-drop factor just a little more.
  June 9, 2013 - The Record

Quotes

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• James Madison in Free Liberal
  ...importantly, no one seems to have asked President Bush why he is basing his foreign policy on a concept of governing that the founders of this country, including James Madison, the author of our Constitution, said created "spectacles of...
• Robert Wilonsky in International Herald Tribune
  Robert Wilonsky, film critic for the Village Voice chain of weekly newspapers, said directors win the Oscar "for being great ringmasters of spectacles in a lot of cases."
• David Atkins in Vancouver Sun
  In that statement, Atkins said for "international televised live spectacles of this size and scope, it is standard practice to prerecord the musical segments to ensure the integrity and security of the broadcast transmission."