yasemin.bal/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Istanbul

 

                                    Sweeping things under the rug

          "Sweep something under the rug" is an idiom and it means to hide something damaging or unpleasant and try to keep it secret. In my main language Turkish, we say "Halı altına süpürmek" or "Gözden uzak etmek".

"Sweep something under the rug" came into use in the early 1900s and is based on the idea of a lazy maid or homemaker sweeping dirt under a rug or carpet, rather than going to the trouble of getting a dustpan and dealing with the dirt to remove it from the home. 

Examples:

• This scandal can’t be swept under the rug.
• “Sweep everything under the rug for long enough, and you have to move right out of the house.” (The Boston Globe)
• Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members in the disaster, said: “It seems like the council wants to forget about it or sweep it under the carpet.” (The Evening Standard)