whitewashed

Everyday

1. Painted with whitewash, a cheap white paint of lime and water used on walls. tree →
2. (figurative) Covered up: a whitewashed report hides mistakes or wrongdoing. tree →
3. (sport, UK informal) to be whitewashed means to lose every game in a series. tree →

In the lessons

A house, history and news word. The very first scene of The Wind in the Willows: Mole is spring-cleaning, whitewashing his little home, until he throws down his brush and says «Hang spring-cleaning!» Country cottages and farm walls are often whitewashed. In news, «whitewash» means hiding the truth. In Tom Sawyer, Tom tricks his friends into whitewashing a fence.

Examples

• Mole was whitewashing the walls of his home. tree →
• The cottage had whitewashed walls and a red door. tree →
• Tom Sawyer got his friends to whitewash the fence. tree →
• The report was whitewashed to hide the mistakes. tree →
• England were whitewashed 5–0 in the series. tree →
• The whitewashed houses shone in the sun. tree →
• In the forest by the river Gudenau, not far from the heath, and beneath the ridge of land, stood the little farm, newly painted and whitewashed. tree →

Note

Regular verb. In maths sport problems «whitewashed 5–0» means one side won every game. Figurative sense means covering up, which is dishonest.