Bear the brunt
Put up with the worst of some bad circumstance, as in It was the secretary who had to bear the brunt of the doctor’s anger. This idiom uses brunt in the sense of “the main force of an enemy’s attack,” which was sustained by the front lines of the defenders. [ Second half of 1700s ]
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- Bear trap
bear trap noun phrase A police radar trap for speeders [1970s+ Citizens band; related to Smokey Bear, ”policeman”] Historical Examples Our bear trap was discharged, but we could not find the animal for want of a dog. Audubon and his Journals, Volume I (of 2) Maria R. Audubon In Tennessee, I was told, it is […]
- Bear up
to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof. to hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight. to bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child. to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit. to hold up under; be […]
- Bear with
to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof. to hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight. to bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child. to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit. to hold up under; be […]
- Bearwood
a buckthorn, Rhamnus purshiana, the bark of which yields the drug cascara sagrada. Historical Examples I sent your gift-books of Hawthorne, yesterday, to the Walters of bearwood, who had never heard of them! Yesterdays with Authors James T. Fields noun another name for cascara (sense 2)
- Bear's
any of the plantigrade, carnivorous or omnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae, having massive bodies, coarse heavy fur, relatively short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails. any of various animals resembling the bear, as the ant bear. a gruff, burly, clumsy, bad-mannered, or rude person. a person who believes that market prices, especially of stocks, will […]