paper over the cracks






paper over the cracks

disguise problems or divisions rather than trying to solve them

The phrase is a translation of a German expression used by the statesman Otto von Bismarck in a letter of 1865 and early uses refer to this.


Related Idioms :


crack heads together

reprimand people severely, especially in the attempt to make them stop arguing.



crack a book

open a book and read it

study - North American informal



crack a bottle

open a bottle, especially of wine and drink it.



crack a crib

break into a house - British informal



the crack of dawn

very early in the morning

Crack here means the instant of time occupied by the crack of a whip.



crack of doom

a peal of thunder announcing the Day of Judgement

The idea of thunder announcing the Last Judgement comes from several passages in the book of Revelation (6 : 1 and 8 : 5).



a fair crack of the whip

fair treatment

a chance to participate or compete on equal terms - British informal

1989 - T. M. Albert - Tales of the Ulster Detective – You might think that the police concocted the circumstances to deny these men a fair crack of the whip.



crack wise

make jokes - North American informal




paper over the cracks :






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