gird loins


gird (up) (one's) loins

To prepare oneself to face or contend with something. You better gird your loins in preparation for another holiday with my dysfunctional family! They better gird up their loins—the weather up there is no joke.See also: gird, loin

gird one's loins

Also, gird up one's loins. Prepare oneself for action, as in I'm girding up my loins for that crucial interview. This expression comes from the Bible (Proverbs 31:17) and originally alluded to tucking up the traditional long robe into a girdle (that is, a belt) so it will not hamper physical activity. [c. 1600] See also: gird, loin

gird (up) (one's) loins

To summon up one's inner resources in preparation for action.See also: gird, loin

gird (up) one's loins, to

To prepare for action (hard work, a journey, warfare). The term comes from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and uses gird in the sense of “encircle with a belt or band.” The ancient Jews wore loose clothing and put on a girdle, or belt, only when they went to work or set out to travel. Thus, “He girded up his loins, and ran” appears in I Kings (18:76), and “Gird up now thy loins like a man” in Job (in several passages). It had already become figurative in the New Testament, where 1 Peter has it, “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober” (1:13).See also: gird