Englishgrin and bear it
Meaning: To accept or endure a bad situation.
Example: “The flight has no legroom, but it's only two hours, so just grin and bear it.”
Equivalents in other languages
Portuguese: Engolir sapos Literally: To swallow toads
Norwegian: Å svelge noen kameler Literally: To swallow some camels
French: Avaler des couleuvres Literally: To swallow grass snakes
Origin: The modern reading — smile cheerfully through hardship — misses what the phrase originally meant, because "grin" has shifted underneath it. Into the 1700s, to grin was to draw the lips back and bare the teeth: the expression of a snarling dog or of a person in pain, not a smile at all, with the friendly modern sense arriving later. The earlier form of the saying was "grin and abide," recorded in the 1700s, and "grin and bear it" is documented by the closing decades of that century. Read with the older sense, it describes grimacing one's way through something unpleasant while refusing to complain about it — which fits how the phrase is actually used far better than the cheerful smile the modern word suggests.
More English idioms
- lucky dog A lucky person.
- monkey around To play like a monkey, i.e., climb on or examine things with curiosity.
- monkey business Suspicious, dishonest or mischievous activity.
- pass the buck To redirect the blame or responsibility for something (usually a decision) to someone els…
- put the cart before the horse To reverse the necessary or expected order of two things; to put a later step first.
- sacred cow An idea or thing that cannot be altered.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Du bist ein Schatz You're a sweetheart.
- 目に入れても痛くない (Me ni irete mo itakunai) Said of someone you adore completely, often a child or grandchild.
- Bête comme ses pieds Really not very bright.
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