how to say “fig leaf” in Hebrew

עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה
 
A leaf in Hebrew is עָלֶה listen and repeat
 
For example:
 
יֵשׁ הַרְבֶּה עָלִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה.
There are lots of leaves on the ground.
 
A fig leaf is עֲלֶה תְּאֵנָה listen and repeat, both in the literal sense as well as in the sense borrowed from the biblical Garden of Eden account – a cover-up for something embarrassing.
 
For example, a woman whose son lit toilet paper on fire in the classroom and asked his mother to defend him (see this video), might reply:
 
לֹא אֶהְיֶה עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה לַהִתְנַהֲגוּת שֶׁלְּךָ.
I won’t be a fig leaf for your behavior.

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