fig leaf
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.85 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness).
noun
Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered.
Example Sentences
- "This figleaf morality expresses a very unhealthy mental attitude."
- "True, David Brog, one of the organizers of last week’s conference, insisted that national conservatives are not anti-immigrant. But this is a fig leaf. [University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy] Wax explicitly made an argument for limiting the number of nonwhites entering the US."
- "In fact, speaking of paedos, the prime minister chose to use one as a figleaf."
Etymology
From Middle English *figge leef (attested in the plural figge leves), a partial calque of Old English fīclēaf (“fig leaf”). By surface analysis, fig + leaf.