to barricade oneself / hide behind
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to barricade oneself
To protect oneself in a place with barricades or other obstacles in order to defend against an attack. You make a position difficult to capture.
Die Soldaten verschanzten sich hinter Sandsäcken.
The soldiers barricaded themselves behind sandbags.
to hide behind
In a figurative sense, to withdraw and shut oneself off in order to avoid a confrontation, criticism, or responsibility. You figuratively hide behind something.
Er verschanzt sich immer hinter Ausreden, anstatt seine Fehler zuzugeben.
He always hides behind excuses instead of admitting his mistakes.
The verb 'verschanzen' (to barricade oneself) is always used reflexively with 'sich'. It describes that a person or group protects or isolates themselves, not that they barricade something else.
Die Demonstranten verschanzten sich im besetzten Gebäude.
The demonstrators barricaded themselves in the occupied building.
The prefix 'ver-' is inseparable and remains firmly attached to the verb stem in all sentence forms. The stress is always on the stem: ver-SCHAN-zen.
Er hat sich in seinem Büro verschanzt und geht nicht ans Telefon.
He has barricaded himself in his office and isn't answering the phone.
Most often, 'sich verschanzen' (to barricade oneself / hide behind) is used with the preposition 'hinter' and the dative. This describes what serves as protection or a barricade.
Der Verdächtige verschanzte sich hinter einem umgekippten Tisch.
The suspect barricaded himself behind an overturned table.
Whether the literal or figurative meaning is intended can be recognized from the object after the preposition. Physical objects like 'Möbel' (furniture) or 'Mauern' (walls) point to the literal meaning, while abstract terms like 'Regeln' (rules) or 'Ironie' (irony) point to the figurative meaning.
Die Einbrecher verschanzten sich hinter den Möbeln.
The burglars barricaded themselves behind the furniture.
