A cover placed over a light bulb or lamp to soften and direct the light, or slang for a person used as an unwitting participant in jokes.
From 'lamp' (Greek 'lampas' meaning torch) + 'shade' (Old English 'scead' meaning shadow). The compound emerged as electric lamps became common in the 1800s.
Lampshade jokes appear in 'The Simpsons' and became a specific internet meme, but the original 'lampshade' was literally a person who used to stumble into parties and become the butt of jokes—the furniture reference was already meta humor.
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