to cover up
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to cover up
To intentionally prevent something negative, a mistake, or a crime from becoming known by keeping it secret or covering one's tracks.
Die Firma versuchte, den Umweltskandal zu vertuschen.
The company tried to cover up the environmental scandal.
'Vertuschen' (to cover up) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' remains firmly attached to the verb stem in all sentence forms and tenses and is never separated.
Er hat versucht, seine Fehler zu vertuschen.
He tried to cover up his mistakes.
The word contains the prefix 'ver-' and the stem 'tusch-', which is related to 'Tuch' (cloth). The idea is that you cover something negative as if with a cloth in order to make it invisible.
Man warf dem Politiker vor, die Wahrheit vertuschen zu wollen.
The politician was accused of wanting to cover up the truth.
'Vertuschen' (to cover up) is a transitive verb and always requires an accusative object. You always cover up 'etwas' (something).
Die Verantwortlichen haben den Vorfall vertuscht.
Those responsible covered up the incident.
This verb is often used in negative contexts. Typical things that are covered up are: 'einen Skandal' (a scandal), 'einen Fehler' (a mistake), 'ein Verbrechen' (a crime), 'die Wahrheit' (the truth), or 'Spuren' (tracks/evidence).
Die Regierung versuchte, den Skandal zu vertuschen.
The government tried to cover up the scandal.
to sweep / turn
'etwas unter den Teppich kehren' (to sweep something under the rug) and 'vertuschen' both mean that someone does not want to show something negative openly. 'etwas unter den Teppich kehren' is a figurative expression and works well when someone simply does not want to discuss a problem. 'vertuschen' sounds more direct and often more serious: someone deliberately tries to keep a mistake, a scandal, or a crime secret. The two expressions can be similar, but 'vertuschen' places stronger emphasis on deliberate deception.
Die Chefin versucht, den Fehler im Bericht zu vertuschen.
The boss is trying to cover up the mistake in the report.
Du solltest den Fehler nicht unter den Teppich kehren, sondern offen darüber sprechen.
You shouldn't sweep the mistake under the rug; you should talk about it openly.