paper over
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Suggesting the use of wallpaper to cover defects on a wall.
Verb[edit]
paper over (third-person singular simple present papers over, present participle papering over, simple past and past participle papered over)
- (transitive, figurative) To superficially hide or disguise (a problem or a defect) without addressing it; to provide a veneer of normality or success.
- Synonyms: cover up; gloss over; whitewash
- 2014, Patric Chovanec, at Bloomberg, China's Runaway Train is Running Out of Track[1]:
- Runaway lending continues, bad debts mount even higher, and the need for more cash to paper over losses becomes that much more acute.
- 2016, Wesley Widmaier, Economic Ideas in Political Time, →ISBN, page 151:
- While Volcker briefly submitted his resignation to Treasury Secretary Baker, a new vote would paper over immediate tensions – though Volcker's time as chair was numbered, going forward.
Translations[edit]
to superficially hide or disguise (a problem or a defect) without addressing it; to provide a veneer of normality or success