Probably, many had heard the expression "bite the bullet." Someone received advice in a difficult situation, someone tried to reassure or comfort. In addition, there are certain conditions when a person literally clenches his jaw - this is, for example, a state of stress or even a disease. What do these words really mean? First, let's look at the dictionaries.
What dictionaries say
There is no interpretation of this expression in the Dahl dictionary, but there is a link to it in the explanation of the term “squeeze”. The author of the dictionary believes that you can bite the bullet from anger. Also, Ozhegov’s dictionary gives an example with the word “squeeze”, explaining the expression as “shut up, endure”.
The dictionary of synonyms defines the expression as "force yourself to restrain yourself." The phraseological dictionary adds that in a literary language this expression is considered colloquial and expresses expression. A person can use it while holding back a feeling of protest.
A dictionary of many expressions interprets it as "show restraint." Michelson's Dictionary considers the expression allegorical, used in cases of describing anger or rage.
In books
It seems that the dictionaries do not give any definite meaning to the phraseological unit “bite the bullet”. In this case, refer to the literature. Here's how writers use this expression:
- But, gritting your teeth, you make your way forward (P. Molitvin).
- “What do you need?” He told him, gritting his teeth (A. Pushkin).
- Breathing through clenched teeth (Markevich).
- Bite the teeth in order to give stronger teeth (V. Pichugin).
In what other languages is there such an expression
Similar expressions are found in German and English. In German, the expression die Zähne beißen literally translates as "bite your teeth." It is used by E.M. Remarque. Even the Germans can say: Ich biß die Zähne zusammen. It literally means "I bit my teeth together."
In English, too, there is this phraseological unit. J. Rolling, for example, in a series of books about Harry Potter uses the expression “to gritted his teeth” like this: Harry gritted his teeth and nodded (“Harry gritted his teeth and nodded”).
But there is an even more ancient expression of Bite a bullet, which literally translates as "bite a bullet." Interestingly, this idiom was at first a literal description of the procedure used instead of anesthesia. The fact is that in the 1700s, during an emergency operation on the battlefield, soldiers were given a bullet in their mouth to distract from pain. The man was not so much screaming and distracted: in order not to swallow the bullet, it was necessary to control its position in the mouth.
Over time, the expression "snack on a bullet" became allegorical and now means "do something unpleasant, uncomfortable." It can be a difficult decision, a trip on an old car, an unpopular law for the sake of future benefits.
In French, there is the same expression (mordre la balle), literally meaning "bite the ball." In Italian, there is stringere i denti, which translates as "tighten your teeth."
The nature of phraseology
When a patient comes to see a doctor and says: “I grit my teeth hard”, this indicates a certain symptom. In medicine, the following jaw compression is distinguished:
- As a reaction to an event (anger, fear, physical stress).
- Involuntary grinding of teeth (bursism).
Apparently, observation of the behavior of people in various situations and gave rise to this expression. Interestingly, the scripture mentions “crying and gnashing of teeth” as a reaction of people to punishment.
The life of modern people is characterized by a fast rhythm, heavy workload, all kinds of problems and stresses. There are new diseases caused by the functioning of the body to the limit. One of them is bursism. This is an unconscious strong compression of the jaws, often in a dream, leading to pathology of the oral cavity and chewing apparatus. Doctors unanimously name the reason - the inability to relax and rest, to cope with negative emotions.
When a person wants to bite the bullet
With heavy loads in the body, the mechanism of compression of the jaws acts. In this case, the stress is concentrated in the chewing muscle. It increases in volume if a person is in danger, and is the strongest. The average person develops an effort of up to 72 kg, a record from the Guinness book is about 400 kg.
Athletes are well acquainted with this phenomenon. They learn the relaxation of the masticatory muscle during periods of great physical exertion. This allows you to free the spine and directs energy in the right direction. Such an action requires tremendous concentration. People who are not involved in sports are not recommended to imitate athletes, as this makes it difficult to evacuate stress. This can lead to a stomach ulcer. Sedatives, leading to muscle relaxation, lower jaw hanging, block stress relief. This disrupts the way out of stress by the body.
As you can see, gritting your teeth in certain situations is normal. So, for example, players act in a tug of war.
When is this expression used?
There are several life situations when it will be appropriate to use the idiom "bite the bullet":
- When you need to endure something: physical or emotional pain, an unpleasant neighborhood or a period of time. When for the sake of the future good it is necessary to survive the hardships of the present day.
- When you need to restrain your temperament so as not to say too much.
- When you need to do an unpleasant or dangerous job.
- When you need to show courage.
All these situations fit the meaning of "bite the bullet." But there are cases when this is no longer a figurative phrase, but a direct threat to health. Facial expression with clenched teeth is a sign of severe pain. Often these are heart problems. In such cases, emergency medical care is required.
To summarize
It turns out that this expression is a consequence of observing human behavior in various situations. It is not invented artificially and is not the work of the writer. It turns out that it was generated by the natural mechanisms of body protection in stressful situations. How can one not recall similar winged phrases:
- The nibs are shaking.
- Fly with happiness.
- The heart jumps out of the chest.
- Petrified by surprise.
- The hair on my head is moving.
- Goosebumps.
- Soul in the heels gone.
Without these figurative expressions, there would be no bright, distinctive language. After all, people are not robots. They express their creativity in speech. And whoever has experienced something like this at least once will definitely tell about it.