Idiom: Bite the Bullet

face something unpleasant bravely

Examples

• I'll bite the bullet and tell him.

Key rules

• Bite the bullet means face something unpleasant with courage
• It is informal and comes from old surgery without anaesthetic
• It is often used with "decide to" or "finally": I'll bite the bullet and tell him
• Keep "the" in the phrase

Common mistakes

• Bite a bullet → Bite the bullet
• I'll bite a bullet and call him → I'll bite the bullet and call him