smoke screen
1
5.5
- noun
- /smoʊk skriːn/
- Specialized
:
pantalla de humo
- The military used a smoke screen to hide their movements from enemy radar.
- lay a smoke screen
Examples
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The rest escaped in a smoke screen and one was badly damaged.
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Lay the smoke screen, - and when I give the signal... - Sir!
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The detonation was a smoke screen.
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There's so much anti aircraft fire and smoke screens it's hard to see anything.
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They were laying a smoke screen for an invasion of Leyete, strange as it may seem.
Blog text (11) -
To protect their position, the soldiers deployed a smoke screen during the night maneuvers.
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In the midst of battle, a smoke screen was created to obscure the troops' advance.
Synonyms
334
2.3
A thin mesh that keeps bugs out while letting air in
4
3.7
A small object that makes a thick cloud of smoke to hide people or mark a place
4
5.2
A small object that makes thick smoke to hide people or mark a place
1
6.9
A cloud of smoke used to hide soldiers or vehicles from the enemy
How Concealing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'smoke' (which obscures) and 'screen' (to hide or shield) combine in a straightforward metaphor: something that hides or obscures the truth. This figurative extension is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would very likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Smoke screen comes from the military practice of making a cloud of smoke to act as a screen so soldiers or ships cannot be seen. That's why it means 'to hide' or 'conceal' movements.