IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchCaviarder un texte
Meaning: To censor a piece of writing by blacking out passages.
Literally: To caviar a text
Example: “Le rapport a été rendu public, mais le ministère en a caviardé des pages entières.” — The report was made public, but the ministry blacked out entire pages of it.
Origin: Tsarist censors struck out forbidden passages with thick black ink, leaving a glistening dark mass across the page that was likened to a smear of caviar. The verb entered French from Russian practice in the 19th century.
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