smoke screen

smoke screen
smoke screen 1915, as a form of military camouflage, from SMOKE (Cf. smoke) (n.1); 1926 in the fig. sense. The association of smoke with "deception, deliberate obscurity" dates back to at least 1565.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • smoke screen — n. 1. a cloud of smoke spread to screen the movements of troops, ships, etc. 2. anything said or done to conceal or mislead …   English World dictionary

  • smoke screen — smoke ,screen noun count 1. ) something that you say or do as a way of hiding your real feelings, intentions, or activities 2. ) a cloud of smoke that is created to hide the movements of soldiers …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • smoke screen — smoke′ screen n. 1) mil a mass of dense smoke produced to conceal an area, vessel, or plane from the enemy 2) something intended to disguise, conceal, or deceive • Etymology: 1910–15 …   From formal English to slang

  • smoke screen — index disguise, subterfuge Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • Smoke screen — For the Transformers character, see Smokescreen (Transformers) A smoke screen is a release of smoke in order to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft or ships.It is most commonly deployed in a canister …   Wikipedia

  • smoke screen — noun 1. (military) screen consisting of a cloud of smoke that obscures movements • Syn: ↑smokescreen • Topics: ↑military, ↑armed forces, ↑armed services, ↑military machine, ↑war machine …   Useful english dictionary

  • smoke screen — n. to lay (down) a smoke screen * * * to lay (down) a smoke screen …   Combinatory dictionary

  • smoke screen — {n. phr.} A camouflage; a veil; something used to cover or hide something. * /June hides her commercial interests behind a smoke screen of religious piety./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • smoke screen — {n. phr.} A camouflage; a veil; something used to cover or hide something. * /June hides her commercial interests behind a smoke screen of religious piety./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • smoke\ screen — n. phr. A camouflage; a veil; something used to cover or hide something. June hides her commercial interests behind a smoke screen of religious piety …   Словарь американских идиом

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