ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cover someone's ass

idiom
Meaning

To make preparations or take precautions to ensure that a person is not blamed or punished for his or her conduct.


Examples
SIMPLE

I lied to the boss to cover my friend's ass.

CONTEXTUAL

When the project failed, he tried to cover his manager's ass by blaming the software instead of the team.

COMPLEX

Despite the mounting evidence of negligence, the senior partners scrambled to cover their colleague's ass before the internal audit began.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    another nail in someone's coffin

    An event that increases the likelihood of or causes further failure.

  2. 02

    answer someone's prayers

    To be or do exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.

  3. 03

    answer to someone's prayers

    Exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.

  4. 04

    apple of someone's eye

    The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.

  5. 05

    ass over teakettle

    Tumbling upside down.

  6. 06

    bane of someone's existence

    Someone or something that poses a significant problem to someone.

  7. 07

    bash someone's face in

    To beat someone violently.

  8. 08

    bash someone's head

    To beat up someone violently.

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