beard the lion in his den
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From sense beard (“to confront”).
Verb
[edit]beard the lion in his den (third-person singular simple present beards the lion in his den, present participle bearding the lion in his den, simple past and past participle bearded the lion in his den)
- (idiomatic) To confront an adversary in his or her own environment.
- 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Sixth. The Battle.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XIV, page 338:
- And dar'st thou then / To beard the lion in his den, / The Douglas in his hall?
- 1840, Thomas Pringle, Josiah Conder, Narrative of a residence in South Africa, page 45:
- George and John Rennie, and James Ekron, a servant of my father’s, announced their determination to march in and beard the lion in his den, provided three of the Mulattoes, who were superior marksmen, would support them.
- 1936, The Bankers magazine, volume 132, page 307:
- Duty called me to beard the lion in his den; and though no Daniel, I took on the job without fear and trembling…