cover story
- a magazine article highlighted by an illustration on the cover.
- a fabricated story used to conceal a true purpose; alibi: No one believed the cover story released to the press.
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Origin of cover story
First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cover story
Contemporary Examples
And so Jeb Bush wisely decided to sit this one out, despite a cover-story call to run from National Review.
GOP Would Have Had Better Shot in 2012 With Center-Right Pols Like ChristieJohn Avlon
December 2, 2011
Idioms and Phrases with cover story
cover story
1
A featured story in a magazine that concerns the illustration on the cover, as in The earthquake is this week's cover story for all the news magazines. [Mid-1900s]
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2
A false story intended to mislead or deceive; also, an alibi. For example, Their cover story while investigating local repair services was that they had just bought the house and were having problems, or The suspect gave the police some cover story about being held up. [Mid-1900s]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.