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Showing results for take it on the chin. Search instead for take-it-in-the-ear.
Synonyms

take it on the chin

Idioms  

  1. Suffer adversity or defeat, as in Paul really took it on the chin today when he got fired for missing a deadline. This idiom alludes to taking a physical blow on the chin. [First half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Any question, any criticism, any opinion, you have to take it on the chin today,” Arteta said after the game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

"It's a lot of points to lose so quickly and so easily. There's nothing I can control now, so I'll just take it on the chin and move on."

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025

So you’re gonna fail at some point and you just have to take it on the chin and find a way to just get better.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2024

"In the face of hurricane shocks, agricultural production in southern states like Florida will take it on the chin," he said.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2024

His lawyer told him that he would probably get prison but, well, it wouldn't be that bad and he would just have `to take it on the chin'.

From Underground by Dreyfus, Suelette

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.