Swept Under The Rug?

[kokesaat]

I've heard the saying ผักชีโรยหน้า used in referring to something that is covered up/swept under the rug. ผักชี is coriander (parsley).......โรยหน้า means 'to be topped with'. As I understand it, the idiom refers to the way you spinkle parsley (and mint) on top of lahb to give it a nice appearance. I've also heard that the King uses this term to refer to areas that are cleaned up just before he visits. Any one have any further insight?

[DavidHouston]

I think a bit more accurate rendition into English, although a bit harsher, would be "to construct a Potemkin village."

"A Potemkin village is so called after Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, who had elaborate fake villages built in order to impress Catherine the Great on her tours of the Ukraine and the Crimea in the 18th century."

[http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2004/06/17.html]

While a bit harsher than "to sweep under the rug", the historical analog is more apropos.