smoke screen
Americannoun
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a mass of dense smoke produced to conceal an area, vessel, or plane from the enemy.
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something intended to disguise, conceal, or deceive; camouflage.
noun
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military a cloud of smoke produced by artificial means to obscure movements or positions
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something said or done in order to hide the truth
Etymology
Origin of smoke screen
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An adviser to Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, claimed that “a smoke screen was put up by special services.”
From Washington Times ● Aug. 12, 2023
In this case, the seemingly straightforward phrase “relocate or resign” could be a smoke screen concealing an attempt to shrink workforce numbers without the accompanying negative press that mass layoffs invariably attract.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
One union called the figures a "smoke screen" because most reserves are ring-fenced for specific projects.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2022
Or maybe this all proves to be a smoke screen and the Dodgers ultimately go with Urías in Game 1, after all, electing to treat their apparent ace like one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
Eventually, the KGB came up with a scheme that would serve as a kind of smoke screen for Blake's spying on behalf of Russia.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
