Meaning of ostrichism | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The act of hiding, often unsuccessfully, by ducking one's head out of view.
   uncountable
2. A policy of burying one's head in the sand, that is, ignoring the reality of a situation.
   derogatory, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“After a short delay⟳, during which several aristocratic carriages rolled by—at which periods the Marquess adopted the celebrated system of ostrichism, and hid his head—the omnibus rattled on towards town.”

“In a second, we all three fell back on the roof of the coach, hiding our faces with our hands, and committing that gross act of ostrichism of fancying, because we could not see⟳ that we escaped observation.”

“[Torpey] had, upon the principles of ostrichism, sewn up a valuable diamond in the waistband of his trousers, which he fondly intended for his fond and loving wife; and accomplice in his crimes; […]”

“First let⟳ us have⟳ no ostrichism in our preparations against an invasion of this island. There are still some who scorn the idea. Can [Adolf] Hitler succeed⟳ where Napoleon failed? No, they say⟳, the Channel is impregnable. We would do better to prepare⟳ for the worst.”

“[…] Greece was truly 'in a league of its own⟳', with its combination of persistent fiscal imbalances and protracted losses of competitiveness. At the bottom of this was a peculiar form⟳ of ostrichism, an ostrich-like behaviour, eagerly adopted by Greek policy makers; in fact, they buried their heads in the ground, almost uninterrupted, until well into 2009. Routine deviation from targets, over-optimistic assessment of planned procedures and missed timetables quickly came to define⟳ the Greek approach⟳ to its obligations under the Stability and Growth Pact.”

CEFR level