smoke screen

Definition of Smoke Screen in English :

1. smoke screen, smokescreen

(military) screen consisting of a cloud of smoke that obscures movements

2. smoke screen, smokescreen

an action intended to conceal or confuse or obscure

Example Sentences:
'requesting new powers of surveillance is just a smokescreen to hide their failures'

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Smoke Screen

1.

a cloud of smoke spread to screen the movements of troops, ships, etc.

2.

anything said or done to conceal or mislead

n.

1. A mass of dense artificial smoke used to conceal military areas or operations from an enemy.

2. An action or statement used to conceal actual plans or intentions.