![another phrase for biting the bullet another phrase for biting the bullet](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/67/68/9d/67689df3286a44c29767ae0e29d07088.jpg)
Where it's from: Its use seems to come from the battlefields, when soldiers were given a bullet to bite on when enduring pain. When someone wasn’t welcome, however, they would be given the cold shoulder of mutton, as it was thought to be a tough and inferior dish, and deliberately served to convey displeasure.Įxample: You've just got to bite the bullet and go to the dentist Instead, a commonly peddled theory is that the idiom originates from the early 1800s, when it was usual to serve guests a hot meal when they came to your home. Where it's from: Again, it's not entirely clear where this originated, but its first use is said to date back to 1816, to Sir Walter Scott's The Antiquary, in which he wrote: "The Countess's dislike didna gang farther at first than just showing o' the cauld shouther." But there's no particular explanation for its use. What it means: To be unfriendly or deliberately ignore someoneĮxample: After the truth came out, her friends gave her the cold shoulder The whip was often kept in a sack, so any sailor who revealed their transgressions, and was therefore punished, was said to be “letting the cat out of the bag”. The other theory is connected to the British Royal Navy and the cat o’ nine tails that was infamously used as an instrument of punishment aboard ships. The buyer would only find out when they got home and, well, let the cat out of the bag. One is linked to livestock fraud, when merchants sold live piglets in a sack and sometimes swapped them for cats when their customer wasn’t looking.
![another phrase for biting the bullet another phrase for biting the bullet](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/financialtimesbitingthebullet-160601211003/95/financial-times-biting-the-bullet-3-638.jpg)
There are two particularly popular suggested explanations for where it originated.
![another phrase for biting the bullet another phrase for biting the bullet](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/ANK1E6/expression-and-sayings-acceptance-bite-the-bullet-female-ANK1E6.jpg)
Where it's from: As with many of these idioms, it's hard to know for sure, but the first recorded use of this phrase dates back to 1760, when it was spotted in a book review that ran in The London Magazine.
![another phrase for biting the bullet another phrase for biting the bullet](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/20englishidiomswithsuprisingorigins-final-170125151253/95/20-english-idioms-with-surprising-origins-14-638.jpg)
He supposedly got up and shouted from the gallery: "They will not let my play run … but they steal my thunder!" 'Let the cat out of the bag'Įxample: Vera let the cat out of the bag and told me about my surprise birthday party Some nights later, Dennis went to the opening night of his play's successor, a production of Macbeth, and recognised that all too familiar sound. 'The Winds of Winter': New 'Game of Thrones' book could be released next year This is despite the fact he'd invented a machine that mimicked the sound of thunder better than any other device that came before it. Unfortunately, it didn't go down well with audiences, who described it as boring, and so was shut down after four nights. In February 1709, his play, Appius and Virginia, opened in London following six weeks of royal mourning after the death of Queen Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark. Where it's from: Most modern sources agree that the idiom stems back to the 18th century, to the playwright John Dennis. What it means: To take praise for doing something someone else was planning to doĮxample: I didn't mean to steal your thunder, but I had to tell everyone you got married Here are a few of the more interesting stories behind the idiosyncrasies. For the most part, the history of these words and phrases is hard to track, but popular and rather surprising theories abound for some of our most commonly used idioms.
#Another phrase for biting the bullet full
The English language is full of quirky nuances and strange sayings.