The idea was that this would prevent them from biting their tongues or at least curtail the screaming. Soldiers at Warīefore anesthesia was commonplace, it is said that giving patients undergoing surgery a leather strap or wooden strap to chew was customary. “Bite on the bullet, old man, and don’t let them think you’re afraid.īut why did people start saying that? Where did it come from? And when did it take on its symbolic meaning? There are two major theories. Steady, Dickie, steady!’ said the deep voice in his ear, and the grip tightened. The first symbolic use of the phrase is said to have been in Rudyard Kipling's 1891 novel The Light That Failed, in the following passage: 'Bite the bullet' contains a verb ('bite'), which means you might see it in different forms, such as the present simple ('bite'), the present participle ('biting'), the past participle ('bit'), or the third person singular ('bites').

to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation.

I really don't want to do this but I have to bite the bullet because I have no choice. You might say, in a conversation with your friend: You don't want to do it because all your employees are good workers and everybody needs a job, but you have no choice as it's part of your job to do it. Imagine, for example, that you're the manager of an organization, and you've been told you have to downsize, which means you have to fire some employees. To 'bite the bullet' requires courage because it means doing something we don't want to do.

It's a metaphor for doing something very difficult and unpleasant because it's something that can't be avoided.

It is an idiom, which means it's not to be interpreted literally.

The expression ' bite the bullet' is commonly used in the English language, as it refers to something we often have to do. Concluding Thoughts What Does 'Bite the Bullet' Mean?

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