sand

bury one's head in the sand and hide one's head in the sand; have one's head in the sand

Fig. to ignore or hide from obvious signs of danger. (Alludes to an ostrich, which is believed incorrectly to hide its head in a hole in the ground when it sees danger.) Stop burying your head in the sand. Look at the statistics on smoking and cancer.

See also: bury, head

draw a line in the sand

Fig. to create or declare an artificial boundary and imply that crossing it will cause trouble. Todd drew a line in the sand by giving his roommate an ultimatum about his sloppiness—he had to start cleaning up after himself or move out.

See also: draw, line

sand something down 

1. to make something smooth by rubbing it with sandpaper. (To act on the main body of the object, not the imperfections.) You should sand the board down before you paint it. Please sand down the board.

2. to remove bumps or imperfections on the surface of something by rubbing them with sandpaper. (To act on the imperfections, not the main body of the object.) Sand these bumps down, will you? Sand down these bumps, please.

sands of time

Fig. the accumulated tiny amounts of time; time represented by the sand in an hourglass. The sands of time will make you grow old like everyone else. My only enemy is the sands of time.

See also: time

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be built on sand

if something is built on sand, it is not firmly established and is likely to fail They seem quite happy now but I have a feeling that this marriage is built on sand.

See also: built

bury your head in the sand

to refuse to think about an unpleasant situation, hoping that it will improve so that you will not have to deal with it Parents said bullying was being ignored, and accused the headmaster of burying his head in the sand.

See also: bury, head

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draw a line in the sand also draw the line in the sand

to say that a particular idea or activity will not be supported or accepted The president has drawn a line in the sand, which means that if the foreign troops are not removed, they will be attacked.

Etymology: based on the idea of literally making a mark in sand to show someone they cannot move across it

See also: draw, line

hide your head in the sand also stick your head in the sand

to refuse to think about an unpleasant situation Teachers can't just hide their heads in the sand and not try to find out why students aren't doing better.

Usage notes: also used with bury and other verbs: All Olivia wanted to do was bury her head in the sand and forget everything.

See also: head, hide