noun / verb
puff
Exaggerated praise used to promote something.
The review reads like a puff for the hotel.
Etymology
Puff applies the image of blowing something up with air to inflated praise. A promotional puff enlarges a reputation through favorable, often exaggerated description.
More examples
- The publisher puffed the book as a masterpiece.
- She distrusted the magazine's promotional puffs.
- They hired a writer to puff the new production.
Forms
puff · puffs · puffed · puffing
puffery noun — exaggerated promotional praise