eyewash
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
eyewash (usually uncountable, plural eyewashes)
- (countable, uncountable) The washing out of the eyes with copious solution (usually water alone) to quickly remove an irritant, as for example in laboratories and industrial plants; the washing solution itself.
- an eyewash station on every floor of the building
- a bottle of eyewash
- (countable, uncountable) A soothing medicated lotion for the eyes.
- (uncountable, slang, figurative) Camouflage; disguise; false front; pretense; nonsense.
- 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter XI, in Jeeves in the Offing:
- Talking of being eaten by dogs, there's a dachshund at Brinkley who when you first meet him will give you the impression that he plans to convert you into a light snack between his regular meals. Pay no attention. It's all eyewash. […] He wouldn't hurt a fly, but he has to put up a front because his name's Poppet. One can readily appreciate that when a dog hears himself addressed day in and day out as Poppet, he feels he must throw his weight about. His self-respect demands it.
Synonyms[edit]
- (slang): window dressing
Related terms[edit]
- (camouflage, disguise, pretense): whitewash
Translations[edit]
lotion
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nonsense, flattery, pretentiousness
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means of creating deceptive impression
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Verb[edit]
eyewash (third-person singular simple present eyewashes, present participle eyewashing, simple past and past participle eyewashed)
- To fool with nonsense or flattery.
- (intelligence) To keep information secret by sending false information to many people in one's own organization, and correct information to a select few.
- 2016 January 31, “‘Eyewash’: How the CIA deceives its own workforce about operations”, in The New York Times[1]:
- But others said that eyewashing was a standard security practice that had been in existence for decades.