cover (redirected from covering up)

blow someone's cover

Sl. to reveal someone's true identity; to ruin someone's scheme for concealment. The dog recognized me and blew my cover. I didn't mean to blow your cover by calling out to you.

See also: blow

cover (up) for someone

to conceal someone's wrongdoing by lying or concealing the evidence of wrongdoing. Are you covering up for the person who committed the crime? I wouldn't cover for anyone.

cover someone or something against something 

1. to cover someone or something as protection against something. You should cover your ears against the cold. I covered little Jimmy against the night's drafts. I covered myself against the driving rain.

2. Rur. [for an insurer] to provide insurance on someone or something against some peril. The insurance policy covered us against losses. This policy covers your car against theft.

See also: against

cover someone or something for something

[for an insurer] to provide protection to someone or something for a particular price. One company will cover the car for about a thousand dollars. This policy covers you for a few dollars a week.

cover someone or something up

to place something on someone or something for protection or concealment. Cover the pie up, so Terry won't see it. Cover up Jimmy so he doesn't get cold.

See also: up

cover someone's tracks (up)

to conceal one's trail; to conceal one's past activities. She was able to cover her tracks up so that they couldn't pin the charges on her. It's easy to cover up your tracks when the investigators botch their job. The robber failed to cover his tracks.

See also: track

cover someone in something

to place something over someone or something to serve as clothing or concealment. The designer had covered her in see-through fabric that was very revealing.

cover something up 

1. Lit. to place some sort of cover on something. Please cover up that mess with a cloth. Cover it up.

2. Fig. to conceal a wrongdoing; to conceal evidence. They tried to cover the crime up, but the single footprint gave them away. She could not cover up her misdeeds.

See also: up

cover a lot of ground 

1. Lit. to travel over a great distance; to investigate a wide expanse of land. The prospectors covered a lot of ground, looking for gold. My car can cover a lot of ground in one day.

2. Fig. to deal with much information and many facts. The history lecture covered a lot of ground today.

See also: ground, lot

cover for someone 

1. to make excuses for someone; to conceal someone's errors. If I miss class, please cover for me. If you're late, I'll cover for you.

2. to handle someone else's work. Dr. Johnson's partner agreed to cover for him during his vacation.

cover the territory 

1. Lit. to travel or deal with a specific large area. The sales manager was responsible for all of the eastern states and personally covered the territory twice each year.

2. Fig. to deal with all matters relating to a specific topic. That lecture really covered the territory in only an hour.

See also: territory

cover the waterfront

to deal with every detail concerning a specific topic. Her talk really covered the waterfront. By the time she finished, I knew much more than I wanted to know.

duck and cover 

1. . Lit. to bend down and seek protection against an attack. When the gunfire started, we had to duck and cover or get killed.

2. Fig. to dodge something, such as an issue or a difficult question, and attempt to shield oneself against similar issues or questions. The candidate's first reaction to the question was to duck and cover. The debaters were ducking and covering throughout the evening.

See also: and, duck

take cover

to seek shelter from gunfire or other projectiles. As soon as the firing started, we took cover behind a huge boulder.

See also: take

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blow somebody's cover

to let people know secret information about who someone is or what someone is doing Someone recognised him and phoned the newspapers, which blew his cover.

See also: blow

cover your back  (British, American & Australian) also cover your ass (American & Australian very informal!)

to make sure that you cannot be blamed or criticized later for something you have done The race organizers cover their backs by saying they can't take responsibility for any injuries. I'm gonna cover my ass and get written permission before I go.

See also: back

cover your tracks

to hide or destroy the things that show where you have been or what you have been doing Roberts covered his tracks by throwing the knife in the river and burying his wife's body.

See cover all the bases, blow cover, cover a multitude of sins

See also: track

cover all the bases  (American & Australian) also touch all the bases (American)

to deal with every part of a situation or activity It's a pretty full report. I think we've covered all the bases.

cover the waterfront  (American)

to talk about every part of a subject, or to deal with every part of a job It was a mistake to try and cover the waterfront in her talk - one or two points would have been enough. It's obvious one salesman can't cover the waterfront. We'll need a whole team for this area.

cover/hide a multitude of sins  (humorous)

if something hides a multitude of sins, it prevents people from seeing or discovering something bad Big sweaters are warm and practical and they hide a multitude of sins.

See also: multitude, sin

You can't judge a book by its cover.

something that you say which means you cannot judge the quality or character of someone or something just by looking at them She doesn't look very intelligent, but you can't judge a book by its cover.

See also: book, judge

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blow somebody's cover

to make secret information about someone known Herman had been a spy for 20 years before someone blew his cover.

See also: blow

cover your ass (rude)

to make sure that you cannot be blamed or criticized later for something The police were more interested in covering their asses than in finding the killer.

See also: ass

cover your tracks

to hide or destroy anything that shows where you have been or what you have been doing Roberts covered his tracks by throwing the knife in the river and burying his wife's body miles from his home.

See also: track

cover all the bases

to deal with every possibility Those movie awards cover all the bases - best villain, best fight, best kiss, best everything.

cover ground

to examine subjects or discuss ideas Much of the book covers ground that will be familiar to Unix programmers.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cover ground (to move across an area)

See also: ground

cover the waterfront

to deal with all parts of a subject or area of interest, not omitting anything The FBI cannot expect a handful of agents to cover the waterfront in investigating terrorism.

cover up something also cover something up

to keep something secret or hidden Others accused her of covering up her financial dealings. I was amazed that the building contractors we hired tried to cover up the problems they had.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cover up (to put a cloth or other object over someone or something)

See also: up

hide a multitude of sins also cover a multitude of sins

to prevent people from noticing something bad I'm a messy eater, so I always wear black – it hides a multitude of sins.

Etymology: based on the saying love covers a multitude of sins from the Bible

See also: hide, multitude, sin

not judge a book by its cover

to not be able to really know about someone or something by simply looking at them She doesn't look very bright, but you can't judge a book by its cover.

See also: book, judge

read something (from) cover to cover

to read something from the beginning to the end. The newspaper comes before breakfast and my husband reads it cover to cover while he's eating.

See also: read