| 词条 | Draft:Take the Bull by the Horns |
| 释义 |
Take the Bull By the HornsMeaningFor well over a century, “to take the bull by the horns” has referred to facing a difficult situation and overcoming it head-on, often preceded by a moment of gathering one’s wits and courage in anticipation of the tough battle. It is easy to imagine (or recall, if you work on the rodeo circuit) the difficulty and danger inherent in wrestling a bull or steer by its horns, only your bare hands against its hundreds of pounds of fury. A military term similar in meaning, for example, would be to engage in an all-out “frontal assault.” The idea behind both phrases is to toss aside your fears, if not all caution, and charge. OriginsIn the year 2000, historian Robert Hendrickson, in his book “The Facts On File: Dictionary of American Regionalisms,” mistakenly cites the first printed appearance of the phrase “to take the bull by the horns” as having occurred in 1873.[1] However, the British Unitarian-linked periodical “The Monthly Repository,” in its January, 1834 edition criticized writer John Bellenden Ker (d. 1842) for having left out a clever Tory-vs-Whig interpretation for the idiom from his “An essay on the archaeology of our popular phrases and nursery rhymes.” It can be inferred by the Repository writer’s language that Ker had described in his book wrestling a bull to the ground by gripping its horns and overcoming its strength.[2] Therefore, Hendrickson’s supposition that “take the bull by the horns” did not stem from the medieval practice of bull-running (not to be confused with today’s “running of the bulls”), in which villagers were allowed to use dogs and clubs to slaughter a bull in the streets, which they would then feast upon, and the horn-grappling coup-de-grace administered by the festival’s braver participants, may be countermanded. The conclusion as far as Western literature and practices are concerned is that from the time of King John of England (13th century C.E.), people have been “taking the bull by the horns,” arguably in manners of speaking as well as in physical reality. Farther east, Russian folk tales may predate even the macabre (i.e. lethal to the bull and usually to several humans) bull-running festivals of medieval Europe. Originating in a myth or myths about the nature of the aurora (dawn’s glow), a folk tale existed that told of a young man and woman fleeing on the back of the moon (a magical bull) from a pursuing monster. In the story, the young man “takes the bull by the horns” from the other side, steering by them as he sits astride the beast’s neck, in a position of prominence and precarious control.[3] Other Uses“Take the bull by the horns” is sometimes confused or conflated with “mess with the bull, get the horns,” as in, “I could see the other car coming, but it was too late, so I had to take the bull by the horns, and I’m still waiting on the insurance.” Incorrect. Otherwise, “bull by the horns” has only one other known synonymous idiom, the phrase “to beard a lion in its den.” This saying refers to the Biblical David grabbing a lion by its beard and besting it in bare-handed combat. This phrase, too, has come to mean overcoming an obstacle by direct confrontation, especially with something to gain from victory. |
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