fig leaf

fig leaf

Something used to hide an embarrassing or shameful problem. In the Bible, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to conceal their genitals after they became ashamed of their nakedness. Gary used humor as a fig leaf to conceal the fact that he was struggling with depression.
See also: fig, leaf
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a fig leaf

Something which is intended to hide an embarrassing or awkward situation can be called a fig leaf. The Code of Practice must be enforced, or else it is just a meaningless fig leaf. He said that retaining Stewart in a creative role was a `generous fig leaf that the company gave her'. Note: According to the Bible, when Adam and Eve ate the apple in the Garden of Eden, they realized that they were naked and felt ashamed, so they covered their genitals with fig leaves. (Genesis 3:7)
See also: fig, leaf
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • a fig leaf
  • come in
  • come in a certain position
  • come on in
  • damn well
  • a cold day in Hell
  • as one does
  • be (flat) on (one's) back
  • count in
  • (Is) that everything?
References in periodicals archive
Available in a variety of colors, styles, and fabrics, Fig Leaf Cushion Covers are manufactured entirely in the U.S.A.
Innovative New Cushion Covers Transform Outdoor Furniture, Saving Money and the Environment
When she set her eyes on the V&A's copy of Michelangelo's David for the first time, the queen was deeply shocked at the absence of a fig leaf. It is a curious reaction from a woman who reputedly enjoyed being chased around the bedroom by Albert.
Changing attitudes in the flesh; Richard Edmonds discovers the role of the male nude in art through the centuries
Jeff Buske, the creator of the fig leaf underwear, claims that his invention uses a powdered metal that protects people's privacy when undergoing security screenings, the Telegraph reported.
Novel fig leaf knickers to protect travellers' privates from airport scanners
<![CDATA[ The entire world sends journalists to cover Israel, but some of them provide a fig leaf for Hamas, according to the Government Press Office.]]>
'Foreign Journalists Work as Fig Leaf for Terrorists'
It is particularly glaring, the leftists say, in light of the Netanyahu government's refusal to respect international law or US demands regarding settlements and the ongoing siege.The PFLP added that by participating, President Abbas is extending a fig leaf, and giving a gift to the Netanyahu government's ultra-extremism and racism, as described in the UN report on Gaza that was released this week.
Leftists ask that Abbas not participate in tripartite meeting at UN general assembly this week
I will not be anybody's fig leaf," said Ehud Barak, leader of Israel's Labor party, defending his decision to join the hard-right coalition government being formed by Likud leader Netanyahu.
The peace process is long dead
Devoid of the fig leaf that Kadima's participation might have lent such a dysfunctional government, Netanyahu and his new partners will face no internal obstacles in trying to implement their wildest plans.
What a joy Netanyahu's premiership will be for Israel's enemies
Noting that Green was in fact HIV-negative, the ACLU's Rose Saxe stated: "He was simply a gay man in Welch, West Virginia, and because of that we can only assume that Chief Bowman assumed he had HIV and it was unsafe to even touch him." Or it was simple homophobia, without even the fig leaf of a medical rationale, a possibility that the ACLU should not rule out.
Roots of a fatal decision
January shows a topless Eve wearing just a fig leaf to cover her modesty.
MAURA DERRANE: Date with nudity..
The recent 2.3 percent was a start--that was well received, but we all understand that becomes just a fig leaf if nothing else is done.
How the U.S. Congress views China: the Senate's rising star on Chinese trade and finance issues sits down for a chat. A TIE exclusive interview
naught but a fig leaf." More seriously, McReynolds argues here that gender and class relations reconfigured class and gender hierarchies and bonds.
Russia at Play: Leisure Activities at the End of the Tsarist Era
"The board is now a fig leaf, and the evidence is the pattern of having the CEO be the presiding officer of the board," Monks says.
Shareholder democracy: Led by an unlikely activist, the years-long push for shareholders' rights is suddenly gaining steam. Is CEO clout in the boardroom seriously at risk?
``It does not even have the fig leaf of a United Nations blessing.''
WAR IN IRAQ: No oil bonanza; Anti-war call to workers
In her essay, Hoptman actually alludes, finally, to this expansive dynamic in painting and other media, saying that drawing similarly should nor "be characterized by old criteria having to do with form, finish, and manner of execution." Yet, given the premise of drawing as a noun (and its supposed "finished" quality that arose during the '90s), and in the absence of any specific new criteria, the assertion seems part fig leaf, part fog machine.
"Drawing now": Moma Qns, New York. (Reviews)
Social acceptance, while held out as a fig leaf to the potential converts, was much harder to come by.
Divided Souls: Converts from Judaism in Germany 1500-1750. (Reviews)