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[0718] Bite the bullet

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English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • To face a difficult, unpleasant, or unavoidable situation with courage and stoicism.
  • To decide to do something you've been hesitating about because it's necessary.

Origin

  • Believed to originate from the days before anesthesia (18th-19th centuries), when wounded soldiers were supposedly given a lead bullet to bite down on to cope with the pain during surgery.
  • While historical evidence for this specific practice is debated, the phrase stuck to mean enduring pain or difficulty.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Face the music. (Accept the unpleasant consequences)
  • Grit your teeth. (Endure something difficult)
  • Suck it up. (Informal, endure without complaining)
  • Take your medicine. (Accept something unpleasant)
  • Just do it.

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • Suck it up, buttercup. (Tough love, telling someone else to deal with it)
  • Just rip the Band-Aid off. (Do something unpleasant quickly to get it over with)
  • Man up. / Woman up. / Toughen up. (Telling someone to be brave/tough; man up/woman up can be seen as outdated or reinforcing stereotypes)

Milder/More Formal:

  • Accept the necessity of...
  • Resign oneself to...
  • Proceed despite the difficulty.

Situational Appropriateness

  • Generally acceptable in most situations, informal to semi-formal.
  • It describes a course of action rather than being directed rudely at someone.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • Learners might be confused by the literal image.
  • Emphasize it means facing difficulty bravely, not literally biting anything.

Examples

  • I hate going to the dentist, but I have a toothache, so I'll just have to bite the bullet.
  • Nobody wants to deliver the bad news, but someone has to bite the bullet.
  • She didn't want to apologize, but she knew she had to bite the bullet to save the friendship.

Dialogue

Alex: I really don't want to study for this final exam. It's so much material.

Ben: I know, me neither. But we have to pass the course. Guess we just need to bite the bullet and hit the books.

Alex: You're right. Okay, coffee first, then library?

Ben: Deal. Let's bite the bullet together.

Social Media Examples

  • Post: My car needs expensive repairs. 😭 Guess I have to bite the bullet. There goes my savings.
  • Tweet: Time to bite the bullet and finally do my taxes. Ugh. #adulting
  • Blog post title: Biting the Bullet: Why I Finally Decided to Go Freelance

Response Patterns

  • Often met with agreement or encouragement: Yeah, it's tough, but you gotta do it. or Good luck.
  • Sometimes sympathy: I know, it sucks.

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

After someone says they will bite the bullet:

  • They usually proceed with the difficult action.
  • Someone might ask When are you going to do it? or offer support.
  • The conversation might shift to the specifics of the unpleasant task.

Conversation Starter

  • No.
  • Usually stated when facing a known difficult task.

Intonation

  • Usually said with resignation or determination.
  • Stress often on bite and bullet. Guess I'll have to BITE the BULLET.

Generation Differences

  • Widely understood and used across generations.
  • Might sound slightly formal or idiomatic to very young speakers, but the meaning is common.

Regional Variations

  • Common in all major English-speaking regions.
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