bite the bullet
to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult
TRANSLATION
bite the bullet = die bittere Pille schlucken, in den sauren Apfel beißen, die Kröte schlucken --- GOOGLE INDEX bite the bullet: approximately 396,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
But Ukraine must "BITE THE BULLET" on Minsk, says a Western diplomat in Kiev. For now, there may be no alternative.
The Economist
The Economist
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bite the bullet
idiom
- to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation
(Cambridge Dictionary)
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Most explanations of this expression's origin claim that in the days before anesthesia -- particularly on battlefields where no painkiller was available -- soldiers undergoing surgery, or even an amputation, would "bite the bullet" to keep from crying out in pain.
Although tooth marks have been found on bullets, some people point out that it would be unwise to put something so small and easy to swallow in the patient's mouth.
Authors in the 1800s, when the phrase originated, include Rudyard Kipling. He used the expression "bite (on) the bullet" to refer to a way to keep quiet during torture, and thus not to show weakness or reveal information to the enemy.
Another possible explanation comes from an old military practice for loading a musket, a type of shotgun. Ammunition was packaged in small paper cylinders containing a lead ball and gunpowder. The soldier ripped open the packet with his teeth, then pressed the contents into the gun's muzzle, before tamping it down with a ram rod. It is possible that soldiers may have bitten the cylinder at the wrong end, thus biting the bullet.
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SYNONYMS
endure pain, take action, tolerate, put up with something, suffer in silence, resign oneself
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We will have to bite the bullet and reduce our monthly costs by 20%."
idiom
- to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation
(Cambridge Dictionary)
---
Most explanations of this expression's origin claim that in the days before anesthesia -- particularly on battlefields where no painkiller was available -- soldiers undergoing surgery, or even an amputation, would "bite the bullet" to keep from crying out in pain.
Although tooth marks have been found on bullets, some people point out that it would be unwise to put something so small and easy to swallow in the patient's mouth.
Authors in the 1800s, when the phrase originated, include Rudyard Kipling. He used the expression "bite (on) the bullet" to refer to a way to keep quiet during torture, and thus not to show weakness or reveal information to the enemy.
Another possible explanation comes from an old military practice for loading a musket, a type of shotgun. Ammunition was packaged in small paper cylinders containing a lead ball and gunpowder. The soldier ripped open the packet with his teeth, then pressed the contents into the gun's muzzle, before tamping it down with a ram rod. It is possible that soldiers may have bitten the cylinder at the wrong end, thus biting the bullet.
---
SYNONYMS
endure pain, take action, tolerate, put up with something, suffer in silence, resign oneself
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We will have to bite the bullet and reduce our monthly costs by 20%."
