hide one's light under a bushel
Meaning: To keep one's talents hidden.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “She's been writing songs for years but hides her light under a bushel.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:15): no one lights a candle and puts it "under a bushel," a container for grain, but on a candlestick.
Equivalents in other languages
- Russian: зарывать свой талант в землю (zaryvat' svoy talant v zemlyu) — literally: to bury one's talent in the earth
More idioms — Daily Life
- charity begins at home — One's first duty is to one's own family.
- a load of nonsense — Something completely untrue or silly.
- all or nothing — With no middle way; everything is risked on one outcome.
- an accident waiting to happen — Someone or something very likely to cause trouble or harm.
- on a wing and a prayer — Only just managing, with luck rather than means.
- welcome to the club — Said to someone who has just joined you in a shared situation, usually an unwelcome one.
More English idioms
- two men and a dog — A very small crowd.
- has the cat got your tongue? — Said to someone who stays silent when they should speak.
- until one is blue in the face — For as long as one likes, with no result.
- tell me another one — Said to someone whose story is obviously untrue.
- go off the rails — To lose control of one's life or behavior.
- there's nothing for it — There is no other choice.