Fig leaf
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This phrase can be confused with olive branch (often "extend an olive branch"), which is a peace offering. In the context of negotiation, an offer might be characterized as "fig leaf" if that offer is actually a ploy to conceal a sinister plan.
During the Hellenism, the European Renaissance and other periods, nudity was a common feature in art. However, during more modest times, such as the Victorian Period, many such statues and paintings were "chastened" by putting leaves over the subjects' genitalia.<ref name=sandow>Anderson, R. Christian (2001). "Sandow Wearing a Figleaf" SandowMuseum.com (accessed June 8, 2006)</ref> Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues.
Eugen Sandow, often considered the first modern-day body-builder, was a huge fan of the human physique, and, in addition to strongman sideshows, performed "muscle displays" by posing in the nude — nude except for a fig leaf he would don, in imitation of statues he had seen in Italy as a boy.<ref name=sandow2>Anderson, R. Christian (2001). "The Life of Eugen Sandow" SandowMuseum.com (accessed June 8, 2006)</ref>
