Idiom
sweep something under the rug
Meaning
To conceal a problem (usually an embarrassing or illegal one) expediently, rather than remedy it thoroughly.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“They tried to sweep the mistake under the rug.”
“Instead of fixing the accounting error, the manager decided to sweep it under the rug to avoid an audit.”
“The administration hoped to sweep the scandal under the rug, but the persistent investigative journalists refused to let the matter disappear.”
Examples
simple
“They tried to sweep the mistake under the rug.”
contextual
“Instead of fixing the accounting error, the manager decided to sweep it under the rug to avoid an audit.”
complex
“The administration hoped to sweep the scandal under the rug, but the persistent investigative journalists refused to let the matter disappear.”
Key words
Related idioms
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