In Bedford, N.Y., the architects added a decorative facade, thin as a stage set, to a two-bedroom postwar house.

It is tempting, in fact, to interpret the Police Academy's thin, warped facade as an emblem of this condition.

In 1933 the massive columns were stripped away, replaced with a thin, modern facade and the owner was proud of the extra 200 square feet thus gained.

The thin facade of pleasantness shattered.

They can't even see through their coworkers thin facade.

It was melting beneath the raging lust, the thin facade of control.

The lad holds himself well, but his is a thin and brittle facade.

The exterior props up, but barely, the thin facade of civilization.

The ideal interior is neutral and unobstructed, while the demand for floor area pushes buildings to the limits of their sites, making public spaces, or any but the thinnest facades, unprofitable.

But it would be a thin facade, one that would crumble if he did not appear for the ceremony.