hide one's light under a bushel

English

Etymology

An allusion to teachings of Jesus Christ in the gospels of Matthew (5:14–15), Mark (4:21–25) and Luke (8:16–18).

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

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Verb

hide one's light under a bushel

1. (idiomatic) To conceal one's talents or positive qualities, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention.
   • 1910, P. G. Wodehouse, "Pillingshot, Detective":

     "[Y]ou've got a bright, intelligent face. I shouldn't wonder if you weren't rather clever. Why do you hide your light under a bushel?"

   • 1950, "The Congress: The Elephant Hunt," Time, 13 March:

     "If he has ever hidden his light under a bushel, I am not aware of it. I have not observed that he is of the shrinking-violet type . . ."

   • 2007, Joanna Moorhead, "Sisters vow to end their silence," guardian.co.uk, (retrieved 7 Sept. 2009):

     "British soroptimists have hidden their light under a bushel: there's a feeling here that we shouldn't seek publicity because we'd be drawing attention to ourselves."

Translations

conceal one's talents or positive qualities

• Finnish: pitää kynttiläänsä vakan alla
• German: sein Licht unter den Scheffel stellen (de)
• Hungarian: véka alá rejti a tehetségét
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sette sitt lys under en skjeppe (no)

• Swedish: sätta sitt ljus under skäppan (sv), sätta sitt ljus under ena skäppo

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Polish: ^{(please verify)} trzymać światło pod korcem, ^{(please verify)} bo nie jest światło by pod korcem stało (C.K.Norwid)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}