bite the bullet
To do or accept something unpleasant, often after a period of hesitation. The phrase is thought to have come from the military, perhaps because biting a bullet was a common practice for patients, due to a lack of anesthesia. I don't actually enjoy cleaning, but I bite the bullet and do it so that everything in my house isn't covered in a thick layer of dust. I know she's disappointed to have not gotten her dream job, but the sooner she bites the bullet and accepts it, the sooner she can move on. I guess we'd better bite the bullet and get this over with.
bulletproof
1. adjective Resilient or impervious to bullets, as of fabric or other material. That bulletproof vest saved my life! Some popemobiles have bulletproof windows, in light of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1982. A: "Are they shooting at us?" B: "Don't worry, that's bulletproof glass."
2. adjective Resistant to mishandling, abuse, damage, error, or malfunction. Don't worry about breaking the phone, these new models are bulletproof! We've developed a bulletproof computer program that even the most non-computer-savvy person will be able to use! A: "I accidentally dropped my laptop down the stairs, but it's actually OK, believe it or not." B: "Wow, that thing must be bulletproof."
3. adjective Extremely well planned or thought out, such as to be impervious to criticism or failure. We have a bulletproof plan for tackling poverty in the neighborhood. My thesis proposal is absolutely bulletproof. You better have a bulletproof proposal on hand when you go before the board.
4. verb To make resilient or impervious to bullets, as of fabric or other material. After crime rates rose in the city, many stores began bulletproofing their windows and doors. Because he's such a contentious figure, his security team wants confirmation that you've bulletproofed the conference room. Yes, the city has retroactively bulletproofed the windows of older cars in the fleet.
5. verb To make resistant to mishandling, abuse, damage, error, or malfunction. Don't worry about breaking the phone, these new models have been totally bulletproofed! We've bulletproofed our latest computer program so that even the most non-computer-savvy person will be able to use it! Toddlers are notoriously rough with their things, so you better bulletproof this toy you're creating.
6. verb To plan or think something out so well as to be impervious to criticism or failure. Make sure you bulletproof your plan before you submit it to the developers. I spent an extra two weeks totally bulletproofing my doctoral thesis. You better bulletproof your argument for a later curfew because you know Mom and Dad already have some objections.
bullet-stopper
slang A US Marine. Please, I'm no bullet-stopper—I was in the Air Force. I was a bullet-stopper fresh out of basic training when the war broke out. The bar was filled with zoomies and bullet-stoppers on leave for the long weekend.
dodge a bullet
To narrowly avoid something or some situation that turns out to be undesirable, disastrous, dangerous, or otherwise harmful. A: "I heard that John has become a drug addict and is living out of his car. Didn't you two used to date?" B: "Yeah, but we broke up about five years ago. Looks like I dodged a bullet on that one." I really dodged the bullet when my exam was postponed to next week, as I hadn't studied for it at all! A: "Looks like I dodged a bullet by not getting the promotion!" B: "Yeah, seriously. Greg's been stuck doing nothing but budget reports."
faster than a speeding bullet
Extremely fast. The phrase was most famously used to describe Superman in the theme song to Adventures of Superman. You're gonna have to run faster than a speeding bullet to beat this girl—she can maintain a pace that is basically superhuman. Dude drives faster than a speeding bullet, so I'm not surprised a cop pulled him over. Yikes, the cork shot out of that champagne bottle faster than a speeding bullet!
get the bullet
To lose one's job. Primarily heard in UK. You're going to get the bullet if you keep coming into work late. I heard Bill got the bullet for screwing up the Robertson accounts. I can't believe I got the bullet after five loyal years at this company!
magic bullet
1. A drug, treatment, or medical therapy that provides an immediate cure to an ailment, disease, or condition without negative side effects or consequences. Despite the amazing leaps in medical technology and knowledge, we're still quite a ways off from developing a magic bullet in cancer treatment. Beware any person or company trying to sell you a magic bullet for your health problems. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
2. Something that provides an immediate and extremely effective solution to a given problem or difficulty, especially one that is normally very complex or hard to resolve. There's no magic bullet that will solve the homelessness crisis in this country.
number one with a bullet
1. Of a song, number-one on Billboard Magazine's charting system and still gaining in terms of sales or playtime on the radio. (The "bullet" in this phrase refers to an icon placed next to a song that makes rapid progress in the charts.) And now, number one with a bullet, here's the new hit single from Taylor Swift!
2. By extension, far better than anything/anyone else; having rapidly become the best, most authoritative, or most dominant among others in a certain group. The findings of this remarkable study truly mark Dr. Colvin as number one with a bullet in her field. The tech giant started of humbly, but it became number one with a bullet in the mid-'90s.
silver bullet
Something that provides an immediate and extremely effective solution to a given problem or difficulty, especially one that is normally very complex or hard to resolve. The phrase is almost always used in a statement that such a solution does not exist. There's no silver bullet that will solve the homelessness crisis in this country. The way to make progress is through deliberate, logical discussions around the issue.
sweat blood
1. To work very intensely and diligently; to expend all of one's energy or effort doing something. We sweated blood for six months straight, but we finally got our product finished and on store shelves. My mother and father sweated blood to provide for me and all my siblings.
2. To suffer intense distress, anxiety, worry, or fear. My passport had expired just before the trip, so I was sweating blood as we went over the border into Canada. Some of these kids sweat blood every time we have to give them a test.
sweat bullets
To suffer intense distress, anxiety, worry, or fear. My passport had expired just before the trip, so I was sweating bullets as we went over the border into Canada. Some of these kids sweat bullets every time we have to give them a test.
take a/the bullet (for someone)
1. Literally, to jump in front of and absorb the impact of a bullet from a gun being fired at someone else. It's one of the basic duties of bodyguards to take the bullet for their clients if someone tries to kill them.
2. By extension, to accept or put oneself in the way of some misfortune, difficulty, blame, or danger as a means of protecting someone else. I don't know why you always feel like you have to take the bullet for your bosses when they screw up. They never reward your loyalty in any way. I used to take a lot of bullets when I worked as a PR representative for the senator.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
bite the bullet
Behave bravely or stoically when facing pain or a difficult situation, as in If they want to cut the budget deficit, they are going to have to bite the bullet and find new sources of revenue . This phrase is of military origin, but the precise allusion is uncertain. Some say it referred to the treatment of a wounded soldier without anesthesia, so that he would be asked to bite on a lead bullet during treatment. Also, Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1796) holds that grenadiers being disciplined with the cat-o'nine-tails would bite on a bullet to avoid crying out in pain.
sweat blood
1. Also, sweat one's guts out. Work diligently or strenuously, as in The men were sweating blood to finish the roof before the storm hit. The phrase using guts was first used about 1890, and that with blood shortly thereafter.
2. Suffer mental anguish, worry intensely, as in Waiting for the test results, I was sweating blood. This usage was first recorded in a work by D.H. Lawrence in 1924. Both usages are colloquial, and allude to the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane (Luke 22:44): "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
sweat bullets
Perspire profusely; also, suffer mental anguish. For example, We were sweating bullets, sitting in the sun through all those graduation speeches, or It was their first baby, and David was sweating bullets while Karen was in labor. The bullets in this expression allude to drops of perspiration the size of bullets. [Slang; mid-1900s]
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.