Continuing the theme of hiding from last week:

頭隠して尻隠さず
(Atama kakushite shiri kakusazu; “Hiding the head, not hiding the butt.”)

Definition:

This saying refers to a situation where somebody has done something wrong, or has a flaw or failing of some kind. They believe that they have hidden it and won’t be found out – but they only managed to conceal part of the problem; the rest is plainly visible and they only look all the more the fool for it. A mocking kotowaza.

Breakdown:

Two nouns and two verbs. 頭 (atama) is “head,” or by extension the top, front, beginning, leader, or brains of something. 尻 (shiri) is “rear end,” or by extension the underside, end, or consequence of something. 隠す (kaku.su) is still to hide or conceal; in classical Japanese, the し (.shi) form is conjunctive, with the assertive/perfective helper particle つ (tsu) also in conjunctive. The さ (.sa) form is imperfective, followed by the negation-particle ず (zu) in sentence-final form.

Notes:

This kotowaza is mildly notable for its inclusion in the Edo Iroha Karuta card set. (Which, now that I think about it, I may look into and mine for more sayings.)

It is said to have come from China, and is based on the belief that a pheasant (雉, kiji), when chased, will hide its head in the brush but leave its tail visible. An equivalent that is probably better-known to most Americans is the (mistaken) belief that a frightened ostrich will hide its head in the sand, leaving the rest of its body plainly visible -although when we talk about ostriches we tend to imagine them as hiding from an unpleasant truth, rather than trying and failing to hide something from others.

Example sentence:

「健ちゃん、クッキー食べたでしょ」　「…ううん、食べてない」　「ほら、口はちゃんと拭いてても、クッキー箱は床に置いたままで、頭隠して尻隠さずよ」

(“Ken-chan, kukkii tabeta desho.” “Uun, tabetenai.” “Hora, kuchi wa chanto fuitete mo, kukkiibako wa yuka ni oita mama de, atama kakushite shiri kakusazu yo.”)

[“Ken, you ate some cookies, didn’t you.” “…Nooo, I didn’t.” “Look, even though you wiped your mouth off well, with the cookie jar left on the floor like that, it’s like hiding your head and leaving your butt showing.”]