上塗り

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 上塗り(うわぬり) means applying another coat over an existing layer; 塗り refers to coating or painting.
• Basic usage: It denotes adding paint over an undercoat and also appears figuratively when something already present is made worse.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The expression 恥の上塗り
  • 恥の上塗り means adding further embarrassment to an existing embarrassment. In the example, repeated excuses made the situation worse instead.