Unfortunately, they can't get him treatment so he places a bullet casing over the tooth's exposed nerve. Herein one of the characters has a broken tooth that hurts really bad. This Western action film debuted in 1975. 'Bite on the bullet, old man, and don't let them think you're afraid." Of course, there are many other places throughout culture where this phrase was also used. We read, "Steady, Dickie, steady!' said the deep voice in his ear, and the grip tightened. We see this phrase being used as far back as 1891 when Rudyard Kipling wrote his novel "The Light that Failed." Here the phrase is used metaphorically to show that someone is being courageous. There are many examples of this phrase being used throughout culture, even today. These are "Bite the cartridge" and "Chew a bullet." How the Phrase is Used There are also two other popular phrases that date back to this time. Nevertheless, the British officers would force them to "bite the bullet" – something that offended the Sepoys so much that it was the actual source of the rebellion. Unfortunately, this is something that caused religious turmoil for the Sepoys (Indian soldiers who were part of Britain's army whose religion was Muslim or Hindu) because their religion didn't allow them to ingest sacred animals' meat or fat. In order to load the rifle soldiers had to bite down on paper while pouring powder down the gun. At this time there was a new rifle introduced that had paper cartridges that were greased with animal fat. Both of these phrases grew in popularity in Victorian Britain as a way of saying that someone was displaying fortitude or courage.Īnother theory for the origin of this phrase is that it comes from the Indian Rebellion which occurred in 1857. This means that the phrase "bite the bullet" was born before this – probably in the 18th or early 19th century when the saying "a stiff upper lip" was also invented. The practice of biting down on a bullet remained in effect until the invention of ether in 1846. It is a point of honor in some regiments, among the grenadiers, never to cry out, or become nightingales, whilst under the discipline of the cat of nine tails to avoid which, they chew a bullet." Here Grose says, "A soldier who, as the term is, sings out at the halberts. Nevertheless, this is a practice that we read about in "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue" by Francis Grose in 1796. However, there isn't a whole lot of evidence available that doctors would have their patients bite down on a bullet instead of a leather strap. This would prevent them from screaming or, biting their own tongue. Before anesthetics existed soldiers who needed to have painful procedures performed would bite down on a bullet so as to distract them from the pain. The best-known one has to do with the phrase's literal meaning. There are a few different ideas regarding the origin of this phrase. In the same way that there are synonyms for "bite the bullet" there are also antonyms – some of which include: You'll also discover that there are many different ways in which you can say "bite the bullet." While some of these phrases are synonymous with the phrase itself others aren't an exact match or replacement but they do still express a similar sentiment. "Bite the bullet" is such a commonly used phrase today that there are actually many different ways in which it can be said, including: Nevertheless, you can still use this phrase in both of these scenarios. For instance, you may hate doing laundry but it isn't painful in the same sense that getting a root canal would be. In these cases, the phrase may be used hyperbolically (to exaggerate the truth). They may not even be physically difficult or painful. The types of things you may not want to do can vary widely. Typically this situation is unavoidable so you need to be brave and "bite the bullet." Instead, what it means is that you have the courage to force yourself through a situation that's either uncomfortable or difficult for you. There may have been a time when someone told you to "bite the bullet." Most people realize that this doesn't mean that they should literally bite down on a hard bullet. "Bite the bullet" is an idiom that dates back to 1891 when Rudyard Kipling used it in his novel "The Light that Failed." It means that you're choosing to do something that's difficult, painful, or unpleasant after you've spent some time putting it off or hesitating over it because it's unavoidable. These phrases are great to use for spicing up your writing if you know what they mean. There are a lot of different phrases that are used in the English language today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |