涂脂抹粉

塗脂抹粉

túzhī-mǒfěn

idiom #56,960

Meanings

1 to apply rouge and powder; to put on heavy makeup
2 (figurative) to whitewash, to gloss over an ugly truth

Characters

to apply, smear

to wipe, smear on

Examples

她出门前总要涂脂抹粉一番。

Tā chūmén qián zǒng yào túzhīmǒfěn yīfān.

Before going out, she always puts on a full face of makeup.

无论怎么涂脂抹粉，丑闻还是掩盖不住。

Wúlùn zěnme túzhīmǒfěn, chǒuwén háishi yǎngài búzhù.

No matter how they whitewash it, the scandal cannot be covered up.

Tips

history

Recorded in Ling Mengchu's Ming-dynasty 《二刻拍案惊奇》: 其涂脂抹粉，惯卖风情 - describing a woman skilled at making herself attractive. The figurative 'whitewash' meaning grew from there.

usage

The figurative meaning is far more common today and almost always negative - used for political or corporate cover-ups (为...涂脂抹粉 = 'to whitewash X').

Stroke Order

涂 tú

脂 zhī

抹 mǒ

粉 fěn