draw a veil over (something)

To conceal something, usually by not talking about it. Can we please draw a veil over that stupid rumor about me? It's not true, but I want as few people to hear about it as possible. I tried to draw a veil over my inexperience so that the recruiter would seriously consider me for the job. It was a mortifying experience for me, so can we please draw a veil over it?

draw a veil over

Conceal or avoid discussing something; keep from public knowledge. For example, Louise drew a veil over the accounting errors. [c. 1700]

draw a veil over

avoid discussing or calling attention to something, especially because it is embarrassing or unpleasant.

cast/draw/throw a ˈveil over something

(written) say nothing or no more about something unpleasant: It is kinder to draw a veil over some of his later movies.

See also: cast, draw, over, something, throw, veil

draw a veil over, to

To conceal; to say no more about something. A cliché from the mid-nineteenth century, this analogy to hiding one’s face behind a veil is often used to gloss over the details of an embarrassing situation. Daniel Defoe, long known as a historian before he turned his hand to fiction, wrote in The True-born Englishman (1701), “Satyr, be kind! and draw a silent Veil! Thy native England’s vices to conceal.”