fig-leaf
Minimal natural covering
A fig leaf is the broad leaf of a fig tree, famously depicted covering Adam and Eve's genitals in Renaissance art.
By extension, a fig leaf is anything used to conceal something embarrassing or inadequate—especially a token gesture meant to disguise a larger problem: The new policy is just a fig leaf for their failure to address systemic issues.
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
veneer · pretense · whitewash · camouflage · screen · mask · cloak · veil
First created man
- EveGenesis matriarch
- Garden of EdenBiblical first home
- GenesisFirst biblical book
- nakednessUnclothed condition
shame · forbidden fruit · original sin · serpent · temptation · fall of man · expulsion · paradise
Unclothed condition
- coveringLayer that shields or hides
- decencyMoral appropriateness in behavior
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
prudishness · censorship · genitalia · classical sculpture · Renaissance · statue · chastity · shame
cover-up
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
facade · veneer · pretense · whitewash · camouflage · screen · mask · cloak · veil · subterfuge
Adam
First created man
- EveGenesis matriarch
- Garden of EdenBiblical first home
- GenesisFirst biblical book
nakedness · shame · forbidden fruit · original sin · serpent · temptation · fall of man · expulsion · paradise · creation
nakedness
Unclothed condition
- coveringLayer that shields or hides
- decencyMoral appropriateness in behavior
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
decorum · prudishness · censorship · genitalia · classical sculpture · Renaissance · statue · chastity · shame · embarrassment
fruit
Edible plant ovary
- treeWoody perennial plant
- MediterraneanSea between Europe, Africa, Asia
- lobedHaving rounded projections
texture · sycamore · mulberry · foliage · deciduous · orchard · cultivation · edible
fig-leafexposure
State of being unprotected
revelation · transparency · naked truth · laying bare · unmasking
fig-leafsystemic change
Transformation affecting whole institutions
fig-leafbrazenness
Shameless, defiant boldness
shamelessness · full frontal · flaunting · exhibitionism · bald-faced
fig, leaf, figs, leaves, leafy, leafed, leaflet, leaflets, leafless