The incident has forced into the open an issue that the government would rather have swept under the carpet.
The evidence was on film and the police couldn't just sweep it under the rug.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
sweep something under the carpet — HIDE, conceal, suppress, hush up, keep quiet about, censor, gag, withhold, cover up, stifle. → sweep * * * sweep something under the carpet phrase to try to avoid dealing with a problem You can’t just sweep these issues under the carpet.… … Useful english dictionary
sweep something under the carpet — to try to avoid dealing with a problem You can t just sweep these issues under the carpet … English dictionary
sweep something under the rug — (or carpet) conceal or ignore a problem or difficulty in the hope that it will be forgotten * * * sweep (something) under the rug see ↑sweep, 1 • • • Main Entry: ↑rug sweep (something) under the rug (US) (or chiefly Brit swee … Useful english dictionary
sweep something under the carpet — conceal or ignore a problem or difficulty in the hope that it will be forgotten. → carpet … English new terms dictionary
sweep under the carpet — To hide from someone s notice, put out of one s mind (unpleasant problems or facts) ● carpet * * * sweep (something) under the carpet see ↑sweep, 1 • • • Main Entry: ↑carpet … Useful english dictionary
sweep under the carpet — sweep (something) under the carpet British, American & Australian, American & Australian to try to hide a problem or keep a problem secret instead of dealing with it. The incident has forced into the open an issue that the government would rather … New idioms dictionary
sweep under the rug — verb to conceal something in the hopes it won t be discovered by others (Freq. 1) The president tried to sweep the embarrassing incident under the rug • Hypernyms: ↑hide, ↑conceal • Verb Frames: Somebody s something * * * sweep ( … Useful english dictionary
sweep under the rug — If you sweep something under the rug (or carpet), you try to hide it because it is embarrassing. They tried unsuccessfully to sweep the scandal under the rug … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
carpet — late 13c., coarse cloth; mid 14c., tablecloth, bedspread; from O.Fr. carpite heavy decorated cloth, from M.L. carpita thick woolen cloth, pp. of L. carpere to card, pluck, probably so called because it was made from unraveled, shreded, plucked… … Etymology dictionary
sweep — sweep1 [ swip ] (past tense and past participle swept [ swept ] ) verb ** ▸ 1 clean with long brush ▸ 2 move/spread quickly ▸ 3 look at/search ▸ 4 stretch over large area ▸ 5 win easily ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) intransitive or transitive to clean a floor … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
