head in the sand
Refusing to see
To have one's head in the sand is to ignore obvious problems or refuse to acknowledge unpleasant realities—from the myth that ostriches bury their heads when frightened.
The company had its head in the sand about declining sales.
The image suggests willful blindness: if you can't see the danger, maybe it isn't there.
- ostrichLargest living bird
- obliviousnessLack of awareness
- buryingCovering with earth
- ignoranceAbsence of knowledge
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
blissful ignorance · looking away · turning blind eye · unawareness · denial · see no evil · self-deception · disregard · wishful thinking · hiding · compartmentalization · neglect · cognitive dissonance · blindness · escapism · la la la · stonewalling · repression
head in the sandface the music
Accept deserved consequences
face facts · eyes wide open · clear-eyed · confrontational · stare down
head in the sandtake the bull by the horns
Confront a difficulty directly
confront · proactive · on the front foot · deal with it · grasp the nettle
head in the sandface the facts
Accept unpleasant truths
face the music · eyes wide open · clear-eyed · wide awake · alert
head, sand, heads, headed, heading, header, headless, sands, sandy