Dictionary

hide one's light under a bushel en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃ(ə)l/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Originally a reference to one of Jesus Christ’s parables recorded in Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, and Luke 8:16–18 of the Bible. For example, in the King James Version the passage from Matthew states (spelling modernized): “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill, cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel: but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” The parable uses the imagery of a candle hidden under an overturned bushel (“a dry-measure vessel with a capacity of eight gallons”), and is interpreted as a call to Christians to set a good example through their actions that other people may come to believe in the faith.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To conceal one's positive qualities or talents, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention.
   • "Really, Mrs. Scudder," said gallant old General Wilcox, "where have you kept such a beauty all this time? It's a sin and a shame to hide such a light under a bushel." 1859, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The Party”, in The Minister’s Wooing, New York, N.Y.: Derby and Jackson, […], →OCLC, page 210:
   • VVhen after all, a Man is fully convinced of Truth, and believes it in his Heart; yet, for Fear of Man, he hides this Light under a Bushel, by not confeſſing it before Men. [1731, Augustus Hermannus Franke [i.e., August Hermann Francke], “Of the Signs and Effects which Discover the Fear of Man”, in [Anton Wilhelm Böhme], transl., Nicodemus: Or, A Treatise against the Fear of Man: […], 2nd English edition, Edinburgh: […] Thomas Lumisden and John Robertson, […], →OCLC, page 8:
   • [P]rovoked by the hesitancy of a Pennsylvania friend to display his artistic talent, [Ned] Cartledge created this work. […] Cartledge accused him of hiding his light under a bushel and has inscribed the back of his panel: "Modesty is for those without talent." 2001, Susan Mitchell Crawley, “Catalogue”, in Let It Shine: Self-taught Art from the T. Marshall Hahn Collection, Atlanta, Ga.: High Museum of Art, →ISBN, page 75:
   • [Y]ou've got a bright, intelligent face. I shouldn't wonder if you weren't rather clever. Why do you hide your light under a bushel? 1910 September, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Pillingshot, Detective”, in Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere: Twenty-five Short Stories of School Life, Maidenhead, Berkshire: Porpoise Books, published 1997, →ISBN, pages 179–180:
   • If he has ever hidden his light under a bushel, I am not aware of it. I have not observed that he is of the shrinking-violet type … 1950 March 13, Harry Flood Byrd, Sr., quotee, “The Congress: The Elephant Hunt”, in Thomas Stanley Matthews, editor, Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2009:
   • For all his enormous vanity, it can be said that [James] Boswell hid his true light under a bushel. 1991, David Daiches, “Introduction: Boswell’s Ambiguities”, in Greg Clingham, editor, New Light on Boswell: Critical and Historical Essays on the Occasion of the Bicentenary of The Life of Johnson, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 3:
   • He says I must become a writer. Think of it, me a writer! He says I'm a young Shakespeare, that I've been lazy and hid my light under a bushel! 1915, Winston Churchill, chapter VI, in A Far Country, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, section 4, page 91:
   • He is singularly sparing in his correspondence, and unaccountably hides his light under a bushel. 1867 September, “History of the Foreign Missions of the Secession and United Presbyterian Church. By Rev. John McKerrow, D.D. Bridge of Teith. 8vo., pp. 528. Edinburgh: A. Elliot, 1867. [book review]”, in The Home & Foreign Record of the Canada Presbyterian Church, volume VI, number 11, Toronto, Ont.: […] [F]or the Committee, by Lovell & Gibson, […], →OCLC, page 362:
   • British soroptimists have hidden their light under a bushel: there's a feeling here that we shouldn't seek publicity because we'd be drawing attention to ourselves. 2007 December 12, Joanna Moorhead, “Sisters vow to end their silence”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2016:
   • O then doe not knit vp your Maſters talent in a Napkin; ſmother not his light vnder a buſhell; […] but aboue all, ſquander not avvay your rich portions by riotous living. [1624 March 23 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Robert Saunderson [i.e., Robert Sanderson], “[Ad Clerum.] The Third Sermon. At a Visitation at Boston Lincoln[shire] 13. March. 1624.”, in Twelve Sermons, […], [new] edition, London: […] Aug[ustine] Math[ews], for Robert Dawlman, and are to be sold by Robert Allet, […], published 1632, →OCLC, §. 33, page 117:

Forms

Translations (17)

fr faire preuve de modestie (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · sv sätta sitt ljus under ena skäppo (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · fi pitää kynttiläänsä vakan alla (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · ru зары́ть свой тала́нт в зе́млю (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · pl schować pod korcem (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · pl chować pod korcem (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · pl trzymać pod korcem (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · fr dissimuler son talent (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · sv sätta sitt ljus under skäppan (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · fr mettre son talent sous le boisseau (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · hu véka alá rejti a tehetségét (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · hu véka alá rejt (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · cmn 深藏不露 (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · da sætte sit lys under en skæppe (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · ru зарыва́ть свой тала́нт в зе́млю (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · nb sette sitt lys under en skjeppe (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents) · de sein Licht unter den Scheffel stellen (to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents)

wikipedia: Oxford University Press