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.

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.

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.

den of iniquity

A place where seedy activities happen. I'm not surprised to hear that the police raided that club again—it's a den of iniquity! Stay away from that den of iniquity—I don't want you involved in any of the illegal activities that go on there. You're looking to hire a woman for the night? Well, lucky you, this part of town has many dens of iniquity to choose from.

den of thieves

1. A group of people engaged in or suspected of illegal, immoral, or underhanded activities. Our state's economy is never going to recover as long as we've got this den of thieves running the show. I'm not surprised to hear that the police raided that club again—it's run by a den of thieves! Listen, I don't want you involved with that den of thieves or any of their illegal activities.

2. A place in which such activities take place or are suspected. A: "I just heard that FlemCorp is being accused of embezzling nearly half a billion dollars!" B: "Are you surprised? Everyone knows that place is a den of thieves." That place has always been a den of thieves, so steer clear unless you want a criminal record. I thought we were just gonna play poker. I didn't know the place was a den of thieves on the verge of being busted!

the lion's den

A particularly dangerous, hostile, or oppressive place or situation, especially due to an angry or sinister person or group of people within it. I felt like I was walking into the lion's den when I went in front of the board for my annual review.

walk into the lion's den

To enter into a particularly dangerous, hostile, or oppressive place or situation, especially due to an angry or sinister person or group of people within it. I felt like I was walking into the lion's den when I went in front of the board for my annual review.

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.

den of iniquity

a place filled with criminal activity or wickedness. The town was a den of iniquity and vice was everywhere. Police raided the gambling house, calling it a den of iniquity.

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).

a den of iniquity

If a place is a den of iniquity, a lot of immoral things happen there. As time went on, he realised he was working in a den of iniquity and that the corruption spread right to the top of the organization.

walk into the lion's den

COMMON If you walk into the lion's den, you deliberately place yourself in a dangerous or difficult situation. Confident that he had done no wrong, the Minister last night walked into the lion's den of his press accusers, looked them in the eye, and fought back. Note: Other verbs such as go, step, or venture can be used instead of walk. We need to win tonight's game, but we are going into the lion's den without one of our key men. Note: You can also say that someone is thrown or sent into the lion's den if they are put in a difficult or dangerous situation. She was eagerly accepted by the teaching agency, and thrown straight into the lion's den at a tough comprehensive school in Surrey. Note: This expression comes from the story in the Bible of Daniel, who was thrown into a den of lions because he refused to stop praying to God. However, he was protected by God and the lions did not hurt him. (Daniel 6)

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.

the lion's den

a demanding, intimidating, or unpleasant place or situation.

a den of iˈniquity/ˈvice

(disapproving) a place where people do bad things: She thinks that just because we sit around smoking and drinking beer the club must be a real den of iniquity.

the ˌlion’s ˈden

a difficult situation in which you have to face a person or people who are unfriendly or aggressive towards you: Before each one of her press conferences, she felt as if she were going into the lion’s den.This idiom comes from the story of Daniel in the Bible, who went into a lion’s den (= home) as a punishment but was not hurt by the lion.

den of thieves, a

A group of individuals or a place strongly suspected of underhanded dealings. This term appears in the Bible (Matthew 21:13) when Jesus, driving the moneychangers from the Temple, said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Daniel Defoe used the term in Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, and by the late eighteenth century it was well known enough to be listed with other collective terms such as “House of Commons” in William Cobbett’s English Grammar in a discussion of syntax relating to pronouns.

See also: den, of

See also:

References in periodicals archive

Denning ecology in sympatric populations of skunks (Spilogale gracilis and Mephitis mephitis) in west-central texas.

Uso y seleccion de madrigueras por parte de Conepatus chinga (Mephitidae) en un relicto de pastizal pampeano del centro de Argentina

Raccoon denning behavior in eastern Kansas as determined from radio-telemetry.

Maternal response to conspecific visits at natal dens in raccoons (Procyon lotor)

Chief Denning said the accidents were a "stone's throw away" from one another.

Wanted: Info on hazardous Brimfield road

Denning has previous convictions in Britain for sex assaults on boys but claimed that he vowed in 1987 to give up illegal sexual activity.

Ex-Radio 1 DJ jailed for child sex

Our observations of post-denning polar bear activity on the North Slope are consistent with studies done elsewhere, in that a) denning polar bears at this latitude emerged in the month of March, b) bears spent the majority of their time inside their dens, c) bears did not appear to be active at night, d) bears remained at dens for variable lengths of time (2-18 days in this study), and e) bear out-of-den activity was positively correlated with wind chill (e.g., the colder it was, the less bear activity).

An improved method of documenting activity patterns of post-emergence polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Northern Alaska

Denning presented the group's findings at a meeting of the Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Group, held late last month at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.

High marks for encryption algorithm

Key words: Arctic Coastal Plain, denning habitat, digital terrain model, DTM, IfSAR, maternal den, National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska, NPR-A, polar bear, Ursus maritimus

Mapping polar bear maternal denning habitat in the National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska with an IfSAR digital terrain model

In particular, Nelson finds that denning bears normally turn potentially toxic nitrogen compounds into protein.

Bone loss and the three bears: a circulating secret of skeletal stability

Denning, associated with pregnant females, is an integral part of the reproductive process and occurs in the winter months (Ramsay and Stirling, 1988; Amstrup, 2003).

Post-den emergence behavior of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in northern Alaska

Denning polar bears subjected to human disturbances may abandon dens before their altricial young can survive the rigors of the Arctic winter.

Polar bear maternal den habitat in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

To date, considerable field work has focused on identification of polar bear maternity denning areas in order to provide protection from disturbance or habitat destruction that might cause a female to depart before her cubs were large enough to survive, or to cease future denning in a particular area altogether.

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) denning in the area of the Simpson Peninsula, Nunavut

Female polar bears are faithful to general geographic areas, rather than to specific locations, and return to the same substrate (land versus sea ice) for consecutive denning (Amstrup and Gardner, 1994).

Habitat characteristics of polar bear terrestrial maternal den sites in northern Alaska

In a large polar bear denning area inland from the coast of western Hudson Bay south of Churchill, Manitoba, previous denning activity was determined by examining tree growth anomalies in the black spruce (Picea mariana) around and above den sites.

Chronology of terrestrial den use by polar bears in Western Hudson Bay as indicated by tree growth anomalies

On aerial photos, we mapped 1782 km of bank habitats suitable for denning. Bank habitats comprised 0.18% of our study area between the Colville River and the Tamayariak River in northern Alaska.

Remote Identification of Polar Bear Maternal Den Habitat in Northern Alaska

Other possible explanations for their use include escape from insect harassment and maternity denning. This paper describes the types of structures dug, quantifies the age and sex classes of bears using them, and evaluates possible hypotheses to explain their function.

Distribution, characteristics, and use of earth dens and related excavations by polar bears on the Western Hudson Bay Lowlands