Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Smoke used as a
disguise ,mask orcover , as oftroops inbattle . - noun Anything used metaphorically to
conceal ordistract .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an action intended to conceal or confuse or obscure
- noun (military) screen consisting of a cloud of smoke that obscures movements
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In a clarification issued here on Tuesday, in the context of what he described as the smokescreen being created over the issue by the Opposition with political motives, the Minister said TECOM made the demand only at the time when the lease deed had to be re-registered due to technical reasons.
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I've got to think this is a McCain smokescreen to divert attention from the real issue here: how and why McCain selected this tyro.
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The Republicans think their own pathetic smokescreen is too strong.
Think Progress » House Conservatives Abandon Ethics Reform, End Debate on Bill With No Vote 2006
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Adobe boss: Jobs 'excuses are a "smokescreen" - Apple CEO Steve Jobs yesterday issued a rare public letter, explaining why his company wouldn't permit Flash on the iPhone or iPad.
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I agree its a lousy smokescreen, which is a pretty good indication as to what the courts would decide.
The Volokh Conspiracy » “It May Be Clever, but It Is Not Constitutional” 2010
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I agree its a lousy smokescreen, which is a pretty good indication as to what the courts would decide.
The Volokh Conspiracy » “It May Be Clever, but It Is Not Constitutional” 2010
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The smokescreen is the Fl/MI delegates. .which is nothing but noise in the background to justify her staying in the race when the real reason is because Obama is the 'black' candidate who cannot win the general.
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And we think that it goes beyond just this so-called smokescreen of weapons of mass destruction.
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It all adds up to what Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet medical journal, calls a "smokescreen of device regulation which is putting patients at risk."
Reuters: Top News 2012
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It all adds up to what Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet medical journal, calls a "smokescreen of device regulation which is putting patients at risk."
Reuters: Top News 2012
qroqqa commented on the word smokescreen
v.t. form a smoke-screen over
'I did not write the book,' he replied every time, a Gauloise smokescreening his white polo-necked sweater and mustachioed smile.
— Julian Barnes, 1996, 'Gnossienne', in Cross Channel
July 11, 2008
shanvrolijk commented on the word smokescreen
"But that’s a smokescreen."
Source: DIY Digital Humanities
January 22, 2018