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bite the bullet

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

Etymology:

  • This term came into existence during the 19th century. Before local anesthesia most soldiers were operated by placing a rubber bullet in their mouth. Whenever they felt pain they used to bite the bullet and endured the pain throughout the treatment. It was an effective way of dealing with pain as, soldiers used to bite the bullet when they felt pain and the surgeon worked without getting distracted.
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I hate going to the dentist, but I'll have to just bite the bullet, make the appointment and go.

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Submitted on February 25, 2019

Modified by TriplePurple on April 07, 2024

Additional definitions for 'bite the bullet':

bite the bulletTo accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to continue moving forward.
bite the bulletTo endure a punishment or consequence with dignity or stoicism.
bite the bulletto force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation
See them all »

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to bite the bullet

dodged a bulletbite the big oneBite Off More Than You Can Chewone's bark is worse than one's bitedon't bite the newbieeat an elephant one bite at a timebite the big onebite someone in the arsedon't bite the hand that feeds youbullet pointevery bullet has its billetbite the dustbite the big onebite off more than one can chew

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    "bite the bullet." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/bite-the-bullet_44494>.

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