bite the bullet

bite the bullet
   to take a difficult or costly decision
   A soldier being flogged was given a bullet to bite to prevent his crying out in pain. Today only metaphorical bullets are bitten:
    I suppose he thought it would be best to bite the bullet and pay out one large sum of money rather than be bled to death over the years penny by penny. (Atwood, 1996)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • bite the bullet — ► bite the bullet decide to do something difficult or unpleasant that one has been hesitating over. [ORIGIN: from the old custom of giving wounded soldiers a bullet to bite on when undergoing surgery without anaesthetic.] Main Entry: ↑bite …   English terms dictionary

  • bite the bullet — If you have to bite the bullet, you have to accept or face something unpleasant because it cannot be avoided …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • bite the bullet — [v] take it be forced, bow to fate, face the music*, have no choice, know no alternative, pay the piper*, stand up and take it, swallow the pill*, take one’s medicine*, take the rap; concepts 23,96 …   New thesaurus

  • bite the bullet — phrasal : to face up to an unpleasant situation by taking action we are now seeing responsible industries beginning to bite the bullet and clean up waste sites Harold Gershowitz * * * bite the bullet informal phrase to force yourself to do… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Bite the bullet — To bite the bullet is to accept the consequences of a hard choice. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=yNjM75ItNKAC pg=PA29 dq=bite+the+bullet+philosopher sig=zxV AuvTVtdhoqLrS iiCY07o2I#PPA28,M1 Thinking from A to Z p.28] ] It is derived… …   Wikipedia

  • bite the bullet —    If you have to bite the bullet, you have to accept or face something unpleasant because it cannot be avoided.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If you bite the bullet, you accept something unpleasant because you cannot avoid it.     If… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • bite the bullet — tv. to accept something difficult and try to live with it. □ You are just going to have to bite the bullet and make the best of it. □ Jim bit the bullet and accepted what he knew had to be …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • bite the bullet — to do or accept something difficult or unpleasant. We ve all experienced unpleasant moments when we had to bite the bullet and apologize for something we did. Etymology: based on the literal action of biting on bullets that was done by soldiers… …   New idioms dictionary

  • bite the bullet (to) —  Go ahead with a difficult task even though it might be expensive.  ► “And unless providers realize that the old environment has in no way prepared them for the competition ahead and unless they bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to correct …   American business jargon

  • bite the bullet — try harder, be tougher    Bite the bullet during exam week. Don t party; just study …   English idioms

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