a cloud of smoke created to conceal military operations (隐蔽军事行动的)烟幕 ■(figurative)a ruse designed to disguise someone's real intentions or activities (喻)(掩饰真实目的、活动的)烟幕 he tried to create a smokescreen by quibbling about the statistics. 他通过在统计数字上找茬来制造烟幕掩盖真相。