smoke screen — 1915, as a form of military camouflage, from SMOKE (Cf. smoke) (n.1); 1926 in the fig. sense. The association of smoke with deception, deliberate obscurity dates back to at least 1565 … Etymology dictionary
smoke screen — n. 1. a cloud of smoke spread to screen the movements of troops, ships, etc. 2. anything said or done to conceal or mislead … English World dictionary
smoke screen — smoke ,screen noun count 1. ) something that you say or do as a way of hiding your real feelings, intentions, or activities 2. ) a cloud of smoke that is created to hide the movements of soldiers … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
smoke screen — smoke′ screen n. 1) mil a mass of dense smoke produced to conceal an area, vessel, or plane from the enemy 2) something intended to disguise, conceal, or deceive • Etymology: 1910–15 … From formal English to slang
smoke screen — index disguise, subterfuge Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
Smoke screen — For the Transformers character, see Smokescreen (Transformers) A smoke screen is a release of smoke in order to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft or ships.It is most commonly deployed in a canister … Wikipedia
smoke screen — noun 1. (military) screen consisting of a cloud of smoke that obscures movements • Syn: ↑smokescreen • Topics: ↑military, ↑armed forces, ↑armed services, ↑military machine, ↑war machine … Useful english dictionary
smoke screen — n. to lay (down) a smoke screen * * * to lay (down) a smoke screen … Combinatory dictionary
smoke screen — {n. phr.} A camouflage; a veil; something used to cover or hide something. * /June hides her commercial interests behind a smoke screen of religious piety./ … Dictionary of American idioms
smoke screen — {n. phr.} A camouflage; a veil; something used to cover or hide something. * /June hides her commercial interests behind a smoke screen of religious piety./ … Dictionary of American idioms