Wiktionary

bite the bullet

English

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Etymology

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Possibly from the reported practice of soldiers biting a bullet to avoid crying out in pain, usually during a medical procedure or punishment.[1] See the Wikipedia article Bite the bullet for a further discussion of possible etymologies.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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bite the bullet (third-person singular simple present bites the bullet, present participle biting the bullet, simple past bit the bullet, past participle bitten the bullet)

  1. (idiomatic) To accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to proceed.
  2. (philosophy) To accept an undesirable or counterintuitive implication of an argument or view.
    • 2014 June 12, C. Stephen Evans, David Baggett, “Moral Arguments for the Existence of God”, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy‎[1]:
      With respect to the status of infants and those suffering from dementia, the critic might bite the bullet and just accept the fact that human dignity does not extend to them, or else argue that the fact that infants and those suffering mental breakdown are part of a species whose members typically possess rationality merits them a special respect, even if they lack this quality as individuals.

Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gary Martin (1997–) “Bite the bullet”, in The Phrase Finder.
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