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paper over
paper over something
1. Lit. to put a layer of wallpaper on a wall. We papered over the wall, giving the room a bright, new look. We papered over the old plaster on the wall.
2. to cover up some sort of blemish on a wall with wallpaper. We papered over a lot of little cracks. Sam papered over all the flaws in the plaster wall.
3. Fig. to conceal something; to cover something up. Don't try to paper over the mess you have made. George tried to paper over all his mistakes.
paper over something
also paper something over to solve a problem temporarily They papered over their disagreements in order to end the meeting on a positive note. She has a solid record of bridging differences between groups, not just papering them over.
paper over
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.
paper over
v.1. To cover something unpleasant, such as a blemish on a wall, with paper: He papered over the cracks in the ceiling. She papered the walls over to hide the stains.
2. To put or keep something out of sight; downplay something: The accountant papered the deficit over with questionable calculations. The principal papered over the school's problem with drugs when questioned by the press.