grasp the nettle
verbEtymology
From the short-term skin irritation caused by the stinging nettle.
Definitions
To act boldly, especially when there are short-term adverse consequences.
- Hence it was that a few dozen policemen, resolutely grasping the nettle, had no difficulty in handling it.
- President Truman, when at last he grasped the nettle and dismissed MacArthur, knew well enough the outcry that would follow.
- For a number of years a group of brethren of the Craig Yr Hesg Lodge, meeting in Pontypridd, had discussed the possibility of forming a new Lodge. This year they decided to grasp the nettle.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for grasp the nettle. 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