If an un-ergonomic API is a spike pit, then a tool wrapping it could be thought of as a partly-supported false floor above said trap:
sure, you /can/ cross safely, but a lot of the time, you step on the false tiles & then: ouch! spikes!
With the added bonus that you're now dealing with pain/complexity from the wrapper itself being in the middle of the problem/stacktrace; which could be thought of as the additional "fall damage" π
