美其名曰 (měi qí míng yuē) — to give something a fine-sounding name (often to gloss over its true nature); to whitewash

Definition

An idiom meaning to dress up something unsavory with a flattering label. Always negative — the 'fine name' is a cover for the real, often bad, nature of the thing.

idiom
to give something a fine-sounding name (often to gloss over its true nature)to whitewash

Examples

  • 美其名曰“”。
    Tā bǎ zì jǐ de dài duò měi qí míng yuē wèi "xiū xi".
    He whitewashes his laziness by calling it 'rest'.
  • 美其名曰“”。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī bǎ cái yuán měi qí míng yuē wèi "yōu huà tuán duì".
    This company glosses over layoffs by calling them 'team optimization'.
  • 美其名曰“”。
    Yǒu xiē rén bǎ bú fù zé rèn měi qí míng yuē wèi "zì yóu".
    Some people give their irresponsibility the fine-sounding name of 'freedom'.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

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An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The glyph 曰 shows an open mouth with a small mark coming out, representing speech.

Open 曰 →

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