under the rug

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

under the rug

1. (idiomatic, location) So as to be hidden from plain view (and thus easily ignored or overlooked).
   • 2004, Mark L. Chambers, CD and DVD Recording for Dummies, page 102,

     Before you burn a disc — or, for that matter, every couple of days — running your computer's disk diagnostics program takes care of anything hiding under the rug.

   • 2005, Ted Dekker, The Slumber of Christianity: Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth, page 84,

     Our enemy has turned death into something to be feared and, by extension, swept under the rug. But when you sweep death under the rug, you will likely sweep the afterlife under the rug with it.

   • 2009, Aaron Dean Ruotsala, Cole... I Love You to the Moon and Back, page 68,

     There were things that have been on my back for years, acts that the little bird inside of me called my conscience would never let me forget, and that I wanted to brush under the rug, but the rug never seemed large enough.

Synonyms

• under the carpet