beard

Aaron's beard

Another name for several bushy flowering plants, including the rose of Sharon. The name alludes to the Biblical Aaron and his very long beard. A: "I see these plants everywhere but I can never remember what they're called." B: "Oh, that bush? That's Aaron's beard." I grew up calling this plant an Aaron's beard, but my husband's family calls it a rose of Sharon. That's a lovely Aaron's beard! We have one in our yard too.

See also: beard

beard

slang A woman who associates with a gay man so that he can appear to be straight. Not too long ago, gay men had to have beards to ward off suspicion and avoid derailing their acting careers. Wait, those two are genuinely in love? Huh, I always thought he was gay, and she was his beard. A: "I remember Sheila from when I was a kid. Are you saying she was Uncle Tom's beard?" B: "Yeah, it was a different time then."

beard (one) in (one's) den

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. The phrase is a variation of the Biblical proverb "beard the lion in his den." OK, who is going to beard the boss in his den and tell him that the deal isn't happening? Risks very often don't turn out well, but if you don't face them and beard the lion in his den, you will never achieve the success you truly desire. Great, now John seems like the perfect child because he bearded Dad in his den and admitted that we broke the vase.

See also: beard, den

beard the lion

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. Refers to a proverb based on a Bible story from I Samuel, in which a shepherd, David, hunts down a lion that stole a lamb, grasps it by the beard, and kills it. Risks very often don't turn out well, but if you don't face them and beard the lion, you will never achieve the success you truly desire. OK, who is going to beard the lion and tell the boss that the deal isn't happening? Great, now John seems like the perfect child because he bearded the lion and admitted to Dad that we broke the vase.

See also: beard, lion

beard the lion in his den

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. Refers to a proverb based on a Bible story from I Samuel, in which a shepherd, David, hunts down a lion that stole a lamb, grasps it by the beard, and kills it. A risk very often doesn't turn out well, but if you don't face it and beard the lion in his den, you will never achieve the success you truly desire. OK, who is going to beard the lion in his den and tell the boss that the deal isn't happening? Great, now John seems like the perfect child because he bearded the lion in his den and admitted to Dad that we broke the vase.

See also: beard, den, lion

beard-splitter

obsolete vulgar slang

1. A penis. "Beard" here refers to female public hair. No, sir, I don't want to see your beard-splitter—pull up your pants!

2. A man apt to engage in sexual activity, especially with prostitutes. I do not know why she looks so fondly upon George—he's a known beard-splitter and drunkard.

make (one's) beard

1. To be in a position of complete control over another person. The image here is of a barber shaving someone's beard (and thus holding a razor to that person's throat). It took some time, but I've made his beard—now, he does anything I say.

2. To deceive someone. Don't make my beard—tell me the truth about what happened!

See also: beard, make

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

beard the lion in his den

 and beard someone in his den

Prov. to confront someone on his or her own territory. I spent a week trying to reach Mr. Toynbee by phone, but his secretary always told me he was too busy to talk to me. Today I walked straight into his office and bearded the lion in his den. If the landlord doesn't contact us soon, we'll have to beard him in his den.

See also: beard, den, lion

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

beard the lion

Confront a danger, take a risk, as in I went straight to my boss, bearding the lion. This term was originally a Latin proverb based on a Bible story (I Samuel 17:35) about the shepherd David, who pursued a lion that had stolen a lamb, caught it by its beard, and killed it. By Shakespeare's time it was being used figuratively, as it is today. Sometimes the term is amplified to beard the lion in his den, which may combine the allusion with another Bible story, that of Daniel being shut in a lions' den for the night (Daniel 6:16-24).

See also: beard, lion

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beard the lion in his den (or lair)

confront or challenge someone on their own ground.

This phrase developed partly from the idea of being daring enough to take a lion by the beard and partly from the use of beard as a verb to mean ‘face’, i.e. to face a lion in his den.

See also: beard, den, lion

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

beard the lion, to

To confront a dangerous opponent; to take a risk head-on. The first Book of Samuel (17:35) tells of David, the good shepherd, who pursued a lion that had stolen a lamb and, “when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.” The expression often is put, “to beard the lion in his den,” which in effect adds the story of the prophet Daniel, whose enemies had him thrown into a den of lions for the night (Daniel 6:16–24). Daniel survived, saying that God had sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths. In any event, the term became a Latin proverb, quoted by Horace and Martial and in the Middle Ages by Erasmus, in which a timid hare disdainfully plucked a dead lion’s beard. It began to be used figuratively by the time of Shakespeare, and was a cliché by the mid-nineteenth century.

See also: beard, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer