Bite The Bullet
Mary decided to just bite the bullet, and she asked her boss for a raise.
Meaning...
To “bite the bullet” is to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation, and to decide that you’re going to approach it with strength, rather than weakness.
“Biting the bullet” is an expression for the mental preparation necessary to undergo a tough task. It is deciding to face a situation, head-on.
Usage
A person might decide to “bite the bullet” before:
- Admitting to wrongdoing / Apologizing
- Asking someone out on a date
- Breaking-up with someone
- Diving into a cold lake
- Taking on a large assignment at work
History
In war times, before modern medicine and effective anesthetics, doctors and nurses gave wounded soldiers bullets on which they were instructed to bite, to ease the pain and focus their attention away from the injury.
Biting a bullet, in a literal sense, would divert the soldiers’ attention, so as not to focus on the injury/operation site. The expression has since then turned into a metaphor for accepting injury or an unpleasant situation head-on.
Express Yourself!
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