Undertaking a task in such a way as to make undesirable consequence to yourself likely, when avoiding those consequences would have been easily achieved by a simple change in direction or approach. (i.e., pissing down wind instead.)
Dang, Jake, you're pissing into the wind telling the boss you're too hungover to work. Just call in sick.
Someone or something that bites your ankles.
To a postman, an ankle biter is often known as a dog.
To an adult, an ankle biter may be a toddler.
To hikers, an ankle biter is sometimes a tick.
And so on.
When a man will search for hours to find something that is laying out in the open on a table. Items are often easily found by a women.
Man: "I have been searching for hours for keys."
Woman: "You mean the ones sitting there on the coffee table?"
Man: "Where?"
Woman: "Right there in the middle of that table."
Man: "oh, must have been Male Pattern Blindness"