bury one's head in the sand en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
A reference to the imagined habit of the ostrich burying its head when threatened. See also head in the sand.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To deliberately ignore the reality of a situation; to pretend a problem does not exist.
Now this doubtness is an unhappy state of affairs to the lover of the steam locomotive, but we cannot, like the proverbial ostrich, bury our heads in the sand and refuse to face facts.
1950 January, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 13:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| burying one's head in the sand | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| buries one's head in the sand | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| buried one's head in the sand | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| buried one's head in the sand | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Relateds
fiddle while Rome burns · sweep something under the rug
Translations (20)
nb stikke hodet i sanden (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · pl schować głowę w piasek (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · nl de kop in het zand steken (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · ro se ascunde după deget (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · nb strutse (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · he טָמַן רֹאשׁוֹ בַּחוֹל (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · sv sticka huvudet i sanden (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · it fare come lo struzzo (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · it fare finta di niente (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · cmn 採取鴕鳥政策 /采取鸵鸟政策 (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · ru пря́тать го́лову в песо́к (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · fi pistää päänsä pensaaseen (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · ko 눈 가리고 아웅 (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · fr faire l'autruche (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · pl chować głowę w piasek (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · de den Kopf in den Sand stecken (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · hu homokba dugja a fejét (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · es tapar el sol con un dedo (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · fr se voiler la face (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation) · it nascondere la testa sotto la sabbia (to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation)