gird up one's loins
verbEtymology
Likely a Hebraism, often used in the King James Bible (e.g., 2 Kings 4:29). Literally referred to the need to strap a belt around one's waist, i.e. when getting up, in order to avoid the cloak falling off; or otherwise before battle, to free the legs for running.
Definitions
To prepare oneself for something demanding.
- Man came into this world, not to sit down and muse, not to befog himself with vain subtleties, but to gird up his loins and to work.
- Then Tom girded up his loins, so to speak, and went to work to “get his verses.”
- Then Susan said briskly, "Well, we must just gird up our loins and pitch in."
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for gird up one's loins. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA