fig leaf
Symbolic modest cover
A fig leaf is a leaf from a fig tree, traditionally used in art to cover the genitals of nude figures—from the Genesis story of Adam and Eve covering themselves after eating forbidden fruit.
By extension, a fig leaf is anything that conceals something embarrassing or provides token cover for what everyone knows: The committee was just a fig leaf for decisions already made.
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
- veneerDecorative outer layer
smokescreen · subterfuge · guise · disguise · deception · camouflage · sham · charade
Moral appropriateness in behavior
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
- prudishnessExcessive moral strictness
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
- decorumFitting social conduct
discretion · reserve · demureness · censorship · prudery · covering · concealment · delicacy
First created man
- EveGenesis matriarch
- GenesisFirst biblical book
- Garden of EdenBiblical first home
- shamePainful awareness of failure
nudity · forbidden fruit · serpent · temptation · fall of man · paradise · Eden · innocence
Shaped three-dimensional art
- statueThree-dimensional sculpted likeness
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
genitalia · censorship · Vatican · Michelangelo · David · nude · plaster · drapery
Edible plant ovary
- MediterraneanSea between Europe, Africa, Asia
- lobedHaving rounded projections
- palmateHaving radiating lobes
- sapPlant circulatory fluid
latex · mulberry · broadleaf · deciduous · shade · orchard · cultivation · propagation
cover-up
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
veneer · smokescreen · subterfuge · guise · disguise · deception · camouflage · sham · charade · false front
decency
Moral appropriateness in behavior
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
- prudishnessExcessive moral strictness
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
decorum · discretion · reserve · demureness · censorship · prudery · covering · concealment · delicacy · circumspection
Adam
First created man
- EveGenesis matriarch
- GenesisFirst biblical book
- Garden of EdenBiblical first home
shame · nudity · forbidden fruit · serpent · temptation · fall of man · paradise · Eden · innocence · covering
sculpture
Shaped three-dimensional art
- statueThree-dimensional sculpted likeness
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
marble · genitalia · censorship · Vatican · Michelangelo · David · nude · plaster · drapery · antiquity
fruit
Edible plant ovary
- MediterraneanSea between Europe, Africa, Asia
- lobedHaving rounded projections
- palmateHaving radiating lobes
sap · latex · mulberry · broadleaf · deciduous · shade · orchard · cultivation · propagation · harvest
- lobed leavesliquidambar, three-lobed
- Biblical ReferencesAdam and Eve, ark, forbidden fruit, Garden of Eden, Ten Commandments
- leavespine needle, frond, fronds, palm frond, lily pad
- symbolic plantsolive branch, lotus flower, shamrock, red rose, white lily
- Biblical imageryLamb of God, Good Shepherd, bread of life, light of the world, living water
- Biblical ObjectsArk of the Covenant, Ten Commandments, stone tablets, manna, burning bush
fig leafnakedness
Unclothed condition
transparency · laying bare · full frontal · baring all · exhibitionism
fig leaffull transparency
candor · true confession · unvarnished truth · mea culpa · coming clean
leaf, leafy, leaves, leaflet, fig, figs, leaflets, leafage, fig tree