From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_243_aostrichos‧trich /ˈɒstrɪtʃ $ ˈɒː-, ˈɑː-/ noun [countable] 1 HBBa large African bird with long legs, that runs very quickly but cannot fly2 informalDEAL WITH someone who does not deal with difficult problems but tries to pretend that they do not exist
Examples from the Corpus
ostrich• She was behaving like an ostrich about Old Red - and a stubborn ostrich at that!• Her legs, in fishnet stockings, move gracefully, she fans herself with an ostrich feather.• There is a vulture that breaks ostrich eggs by hurling stones with its beak.• Bailey said she regularly prepares sausage, meatloaf, hamburgers and roasts from ostrich meat instead of beef.• Marchello said ostrich meat tastes like beef, is comparable in protein, but lower in fat, calories and cholesterol.• You will notice phrases like crocodile tears, the elephant never forgets, and the ostrich burying its head in the sand.Origin ostrich 1. (1200-1300) Old French ostrusce, from Vulgar Latin avis struthio, from Latin avis “bird” + Greek strouthos “ostrich”2. Because ostriches were believed to bury their heads in sand so that their hunters could not see them