Decide to do something difficult or unpleasant that one has been putting off or hesitating over: decisions have to be taken and as director you have got to bite the bullet...- But now I have decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.
- I decided to bite the bullet and spend the money to rebuild her engine.
- We decided to bite the bullet, and implement the scheme in order to raise standards, for the sake of Merton's children.
From the old custom of giving wounded soldiers a bullet to bite on when undergoing surgery without anaesthetic