bite the bullet
informal phrase

- to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation

- to endure a painful or otherwise unpleasant situation that is seen as unavoidable

- to face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage and determination

- to do something difficult or unpleasant that one has been putting off or hesitating over

Cambridge Dictionary / Britannica Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

“Bite the bullet” is thought to have derived from battlefield surgeries, when amputations and medieval medical procedures were done without anaesthetic. To distract the ‘patient’ from the pain, a bullet was placed in their mouth for them to bite down on. Sticks or leather were also used, but lead bullets were both readily available in a battle and were malleable, so the patient’s teeth wouldn’t break.

The figurative meaning of "bite the bullet" - to accept a difficult situation with bravery - emerged by the late 19th century. It appeared in an 1891 Rudyard Kipling story, "Bite on the bullet, old man, and don't let them think you're afraid.”

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BULLET PHRASES

- bulletproof = completely safe and resistant to harm.

- magic/silver/golden bullet = a simple and seemingly magical solution to a difficult problem.

- bullet time = a visual effect in which time appears to slow down, popularised by the movie "The Matrix”.

- bite the bullet = to endure a painful or otherwise unpleasant situation that is seen as unavoidable.

- bullet list = another term for a list of items introduced by bullet points.

- bullet headed - Stubborn or thick-headed.

- bullet train = any high-speed train system.

- bullet bras = a style of bras popular in the 1940s and 1950s with pointed cups.

- take a bullet for someone = to sacrifice oneself to protect another person.

- dodge a bullet = to narrowly avoid a difficult or dangerous situation.

- bulletproof coffee: Coffee blended with butter and oil.

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SYNONYMS

ammo, ammunition, armour-piercing round, ball, bead, bolt, bombshell, buckshot, BULLET, cap, cartridge, charge, copper jacket, dart, full metal jacket, gun, hollow-point, hot lead, missile, musket ball, ordnance, pellet, projectile, round, salvo, shell, shot, slug, trajectile, volley

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