paper over

verb

1. tr, adverb to conceal (something controversial or unpleasant)

Idioms and Phrases

Also, paper over the cracks . Repair superficially, conceal, especially flaws. For example, He used some accounting gimmicks to paper over a deficit , or It was hardly a perfect settlement, but they decided to paper over the cracks . The German statesman Otto von Bismarck first used this analogy in a letter in 1865, and the first recorded example in English, in 1910, referred to it. The allusion is to covering cracked plaster with wallpaper, thereby improving its appearance but not the underlying defect.

Example Sentences

By refusing to defend basic accountability, Democrats have deepened the very divides they hoped to paper over.

From Slate

But to hedge my bet and answer with that alternative in a jagged attempt to paper over my vulnerability would be worse, I think, and the motivation at its root would remain the same.

From Slate

By Tuesday afternoon, a delegate was spotted on the convention floor by the all-seeing cameras of C-SPAN sporting a piece of paper over his ear, in solidarity.

From Slate

But Netanyahu’s government is doing more than responding to the traumatic chaos of the Hamas attacks by adopting U.S. gun laws: Ben Gvir’s gun policies paper over security lapses, weaken trust in democratic institutions, exacerbate divides and will do little to make anyone safer.

From Los Angeles Times

These new buildings not only offered residents more privacy but also gave the organizations a financial boost they needed to paper over mounting losses at their SROs.

From Los Angeles Times