Verb
duck and cover (third-person singular simple present ducks and covers, present participle ducking and covering, simple past and past participle ducked and covered)
(intransitive) To duck under a surface and cover one's face with one's hands, as a means to protect oneself from flying debris etc.
When it comes to conservative social issues, it saddens me when sometimes my fellow Republicans duck and cover in the face of pressure from the left. Our loudest opponents on the left are never going to like us so let's quit trying to curry favor with them. Rick Perry