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sham effort

[/ʃæm ˈɛfərt/]
nounpl: sham efforts
esforço fingido
1. A pretended or fake attempt to do something; insincere or half-hearted work done only to appear as though one is trying
His sham effort to help was obvious when he left after five minutes.
Seu esforço fingido em ajudar era óbvio quando ele saiu após cinco minutos.
2. Work or action that appears to be genuine but lacks true commitment or genuine intent
The team's sham effort in the second half resulted in their defeat.
O esforço fingido do time na segunda metade resultou em sua derrota.
NYC Slang
half-ass effort
Synonyms
fake effortpretensehalf-hearted attempttoken effortempty gesture
Antonyms
genuine effortsincere attemptwholehearted effortreal commitment

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
esforço fingido
most common usage
General Brazilian
esforço de fachada
alternative colloquial form
Portugal
esforço simulado
more formal Portuguese usage
Portugal
falso esforço
alternative Portuguese form

Related Idioms & Phrases

going through the motions
phoning it in
putting on a show
fake news (metaphorically in context of false actions)
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