Swallow your pride

[0671] Grin and bear it

🎲 Take it on the chin
English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • To accept and endure pain, discomfort, or a difficult situation with forced cheerfulness or stoicism, without complaining.

Origin

  • Combines grin (to smile widely, often implying faking happiness) and bear it (to endure or tolerate).
  • The phrase suggests putting on a brave or happy face (grin) while internally enduring something unpleasant (bear it).
  • Dates back to at least the early 19th century.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Put up with it
  • Make the best of it
  • Soldier on
  • Keep a stiff upper lip (Focuses more on hiding emotion, less on forced cheerfulness)
  • Bite the bullet (Focuses on facing the difficulty upfront)
  • Tough it out

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • Suck it up (Harsh, implies stopping complaints)
  • Just deal with it.

Milder/More Neutral:

  • Endure it.
  • Tolerate it.
  • Accept it.

Situational Appropriateness

  • Informal to semi-formal.
  • Common advice or description for dealing with unavoidable minor-to-moderate unpleasantness.
  • Might sound dismissive if applied to genuinely traumatic or serious situations.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • Learners might focus too much on grin and think it means genuinely enjoying something. The key is the combination with bear it, indicating endurance despite the smile.

Examples

  • The dentist appointment was awful, but I just had to grin and bear it.
  • I hate these long family dinners, but I just grin and bear it for my parents' sake.
  • There's nothing we can do about the rain, so we'll just have to grin and bear it.

Dialogue

Child: I don't want to go to Aunt Carol's house! It's boring!

Parent: I know it's not your favorite, sweetie, but it's important to her. We just have to grin and bear it for a couple of hours.

Child: Can I bring my tablet?

Parent: Yes, that might help.

Social Media Examples

  • Tweet: Another Monday morning commute... gotta grin and bear it. 😩☕ #MondayMotivation #CommuteLife
  • Post: Stuck at a work event I really don't want to be at. Time to grin and bear it for a few hours. #Networking #WorkLife
  • Meme: Picture of someone smiling painfully, caption: When you have to grin and bear it through another awkward family gathering.

Response Patterns

  • Yeah, sometimes you just have to.
  • I know, it's tough.
  • Wish we didn't have to!
  • Good luck!

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

After someone says they will grin and bear it:

  • Action: Offer sympathy (Sorry you have to go through that) or solidarity (Yeah, me too).

Conversation Starter

  • No. Describes a way of coping with an existing unpleasant situation.

Intonation

  • Usually said with resignation or a hint of forced positivity. Stress often on grin and bear. GRIN and BEAR it.

Generation Differences

  • Widely understood and used across generations, though perhaps feels slightly traditional or stoic in tone.

Regional Variations

  • Common in all major English-speaking regions.
Swallow your pride
🎲 Take it on the chin