draw a veil over

English

Verb

draw a veil over (third-person singular simple present draws a veil over, present participle drawing a veil over, simple past drew a veil over, past participle drawn a veil over)

1. To avoid discussing or calling attention to (something embarrassing or unpleasant).
   • 1959 April, P. Ransome-Wallis, “The Southern in Trouble on the Kent Coast”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 220:

     A steady 69 m.p.h. was maintained along the sea wall before Birchington, but beyond there it is best to draw a veil over the difficult starts from stops at all stations to Ramsgate, the priming and increasing loss of time.

Translations

to avoid discussing or calling attention to

• Hungarian: fátylat borít, fátylat vet
• Spanish: correr un tupido velo

See also

• sweep something under the rug

References

• “draw a veil over”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.