This week’s theme
Words relating to fruit

This week’s words
apple-polish
fig leaf
grapevine
top banana
plummy

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(FIG leef)

MEANING:

noun: Something used to cover, usually inadequately, what may be shameful or embarrassing.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the Biblical story (Genesis 3:7) in which Adam and Eve sew fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Earliest documented use: 1535.

USAGE:

“The austerity agenda has been seized by the Tories as the fig leaf behind which to progressively underfund health and social care, creating today’s crisis.”
Phil Whitaker; Health Matters; New Statesman (London, UK); Feb 2, 2018.

See more usage examples of fig leaf in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: