cook the books
phrase
informal
: to alter official accounting records in order to deceive or mislead
Congress cooked the books with phony spending cuts and accounting gimmickry to appear to reduce the federal deficit.—
Colleen O'Connor
Colleen O'ConnorCite this Entry
“Cook the books.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cook%20the%20books. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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