scratch

Context: Jonathan Christiansen's trip to China taught him that if you scratch the surface, nothing there has changed. Source: //Behind the smokescreen, China hasn't changed one// //bit// in the column of Features, in Warwick //Boar,// issue 06, Volume 29, November 7th,2006 (In my opinion, this article is totally rubbish)

Definition: //vt//. to remove something from a surface by rubbing it with something sharp: Eg: scrach srh off/away etc I scratch away a little of the paint with my fingernail. Source: Longman Dictionary Contemporary English (2005), Person Education Limited