ostrich policy
The tendency to ignore obvious problems and pretend they do not exist; ostrichism.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Ignoring your mounting debt is a classic ostrich policy.”
“You cannot solve your health issues by following an ostrich policy.”
“An ostrich policy only makes a bad situation worse in the long run.”
“The manager adopted an ostrich policy regarding the budget cuts, hoping the staff would not notice the missing funds.”
“The couple followed an ostrich policy about their broken heating system until the first snow forced them to call a repairman.”
“Instead of fixing the software bugs, the tech company used an ostrich policy and waited for customers to complain.”
“By maintaining an ostrich policy in the face of mounting environmental evidence, the administration effectively ensured that the inevitable crisis would arrive without warning.”
disputed origin
From ostrich + policy, referencing the popular but erroneous belief that the ostrich buries its head in the sand upon the approach of danger. The term is perhaps a calque, suggesting a comparison with the related phrase ostrich politics.
Last updated August 10, 2026