To bury one's head in the sand

Idiom: to bury one's head in the sand; used as a verb

First Example:

Teacher: Joe, can we talk about your test?   

Joe: I know. I did terribly.  But I'll do better next time.

Teacher: Isn't this the third one you've failed?                              

Joe: Yeah, so?

Teacher: Well, maybe you should stop burying your head in the sand and admit you need help.  If you fail another test, you won't pass the class.

Joe: Oh wow. Yeah, I guess I do need to do something.

Teacher: Why don't you go down to the tutoring center tomorrow? I hear they have some really great math tutors that should be able to help you.

Meaning: The idiom "to bury (one's) head in the sand" is used when someone is ignoring a bad situation. The idiom is based on the idea that ostriches bury their heads in order to avoid danger; however, this is actually a myth as ostriches do not hide in this way. Here is another example:

Tricia: I finally paid off my credit card.    

Val: That's awesome!  How did you do it?

Tricia: Well, for a long time I just buried my head in the sand about how much debt I had, but one day I finally added it up and realized I had $20,000 in credit card debt.

Val: Wow! That's a lot!

Tricia: Yeah. Once I finally admitted how bad it was, I quit using my cards and paid off as much as a I could each month.  It took me a couple years, and it was really tight, but I'm so glad I did it.

Val: Congratulations

Meaning: In this example, Tricia uses the expression to explain the she was ignoring the amount of credit card debt she had. 

www.languagesystems.edu

                                                                                                                            

To go off the deep end

Idiom: to go off the deep end; used as a verb

First Example:

Hugh: Hey, did you go shopping today? 

Marty: Yeah, I went to Costco.

Hugh: Did you remember to get toilet paper?                                

Marty: Yeah, I got four packages.

Hugh: Cool.  Where are they?                                                         

Marty: In my car.  I need help carrying them up.

Hugh:Why?                                                                                    

Marty: There's 30 rolls in each pack.

Hugh: Whoa! You didn't need to go off the deep end!                

Marty: You said to get a few packages.

Hugh: Yeah - the ones with like 6 rolls! Now we have enough toilet paper for years!       

             

Meaning: The idiom "to go off the deep end" is used when someone does something beyond what is expected, usually crazy or irrational. In the example above, Marty went off the deep end when he bought 4 large packages of toilet paper at Costco. The idiom is also used when someone becomes suddenly angry or upset, as in the next example:

Chrissie: How did the presentation go with the bosses? 

Pete: Not great.  They didn't really like our idea.

Chrissie: They didn't like any of it?                                                

Pete: Not really.

Chrissie: I've been working on that for a month! Do you think they're mad? I hope I don't get fired!

Pete: Whoa! Don't go off the deep end. They appreciated the work we put into it, but they had some other ideas, and they want us to work together on a new presentation.

Chrissie: Oh good.  Sorry, didn't mean to panic there.

Meaning: In this example, Chrissie panics because her bosses didn't like the project she and Pete had been working on for a month.  However, her sudden panic is irrational, and Pete calms her down by telling her that they want her to work with him on the new idea.

www.languagesystems.edu