Idioms: Bite the bullet
Meaning: To bite the bullet is to make yourself do something or accept something difficult or unpleasant.
Example: I hate going to the dentist, but I suppose I’ll just have to bite the bullet.
- 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.
- to make yourself do something or accept something difficult or unpleasant – They decided to bite the bullet and pay the extra for the house they really wanted. Car drivers are biting the bullet after another rise in petrol prices.
- 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.
Did you know?
It is thought that this phrase originated from the practice, during war, of having a patient bite on a bullet to help them cope with the pain of surgery, if anesthetics were not available.