bite your tongue




bite your tongue :




bite someone's head off

respond curtly or angrily



a bite at the cherry

an attempt or chance to do something

This phrase is often used in the negative to express the idea that you will not get a second chance (a second bite at the cherry). If I you take two attempts to do something, especially some quite small task, this is taking two bites at the (same) cherry or another bite at the cherry.



bite the big one

die - North American informal

1996 - Tom Clancy - Executive Orders - The Premier of Turkmenistan bit the big one, supposedly an automobile accident.



bite the bullet

face up to doing something difficult or unpleasant

stoically avoid showing fear or distress

This phrase dates from the days before anaesthetics, when wounded soldiers were given a bullet or similar solid object to clench between their teeth when undergoing surgery.

1998 - Joyce Holms - Bad Vibes- Once he accepted it as inevitable he usually bit the bullet and did what was required of him with a good grace.



bite the dust

be killed

fail – informal



bite the hand that feeds you

deliberately hurt or offend a benefactor

act ungratefully

1994 - Warren Farrell - The Myth of Male Power - When this is combined with the fact that women watch more TV in every time slot, shows can't afford to bite the hand that feeds them.



bite off more than you can chew

take on a commitment you cannot fulfil



bite your tongue

make a desperate effort to avoid saying something



put the bite on

blackmail

extort money from - North American & Australian informal

1955 - Ray Lawler - Summer of the Seventeenth Doll - Your money's runnin' out you know you can't put the bite on me any more.



take a bite out of

reduce by a significant amount – informal




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