Idiom
Bite the bullet
To bite the bullet is to make yourself do something unpleasant or difficult that you have been avoiding.
How people use it
You bite the bullet when there is no good way out: you accept the pain, cost or awkwardness and get on with it. People often say it about paying for a big repair, making a hard phone call, or finally starting a task they have delayed. It usually marks a decision: I finally bit the bullet and booked the dentist. The tone is informal and a bit determined. It does not mean to fail or die; that is bite the dust.
Examples
- Omar finally bit the bullet and paid for a new transmission instead of patching the old one.
- If we want the kitchen done by spring, we have to bite the bullet and hire a contractor.
- I bit the bullet and called the airline, even though I knew I'd be on hold for an hour.
Where it comes from
Most sources link the phrase to the 1800s image of a person in great pain biting on something hard, such as a lead bullet, to keep from crying out, for example during surgery before anesthetics were common. Rudyard Kipling used the form "bite on the bullet" in his 1891 novel The Light That Failed. How often soldiers really did this is hard to confirm.
Check yourself
1. What does it mean to bite the bullet?
Answer: To face something unpleasant you've been putting off. Biting the bullet means accepting a hard or painful task and doing it.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Grace bit the bullet and told her boss she needed more time.. The idiom fits a hard step someone forces themselves to take, like an awkward conversation.
Similar idioms
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