To Dust Something Under The Carpet

The senator has been accused of trying to sweep his former drug use under the carpet.

To dust something under the carpet.

To hide a problem or try to keep it secret instead of dealing with it. The same goes for carpets another dust magnet. Give them a pass at least weekly with your trusty vac ideally one with a hepa filter so particles won t escape back into the room. Sweep something under the carpet to ignore deny or conceal from public view or knowledge something that is embarrassing unappealing or damaging to one s reputation.

Sweep sth under the carpet definition. Sweep something under the carpet to ignore deny or conceal from public view or knowledge something that is embarrassing unappealing or damaging to one s reputation. Brush something under the carpet to ignore deny or conceal from public view or knowledge something that is embarrassing unappealing or damaging to one s reputation. The senator has been accused of trying to sweep his former drug use under the carpet.

It appeared in the boston globe in 1979. This allusion to hiding household dust or debris by sweeping it under a rug or carpet was used figuratively only from the mid twentieth century.