idioms using “paper”

Paper trail

Written evidence of someone’s activities

“The auditors found the missing company funds by following the paper trail.”

Paper tiger

Someone or something that seems powerful, but isn’t

“The government committee proved to be only a paper tiger; it promised to make reforms but accomplished nothing.”

On paper

A plan that looks good in writing but is not good in reality

“The proposal was impressive on paper but it was simply not cost effective.”

Not worth the paper it is written on

Totally worthless

“We were surprised to learn that our contract was not worth the paper it was written on.”

Paper over

To hide (like using wallpaper to cover defects on a wall)

“The engineers tried to paper over the product assembly problems when the customer visited the factory.”