run the gauntlet

Idioms  

1. Be exposed to danger, criticism, or other adversity, as in After he was misquoted in the interview, he knew he would have to run the gauntlet of his colleagues' anger. This term, dating from the first half of the 1600s, comes from the word gantlope, which itself comes from the Swedish word gatlopp, for “lane-course.” It referred to a form of military punishment where a man ran between two rows of soldiers who struck him with sticks or knotted ropes. Almost as soon as gantlope appeared, it was replaced by gauntlet. The word was being used figuratively for other kinds of punishment by 1661, when Joseph Glanvill wrote, “To print, is to run the gantlet, and to expose oneself to the tongues strapado” (The Vanity of Dogmatizing, or Confidence in Opinion).

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Example Sentences

While some tankers have sailed through, several owners said they aren’t willing to run the gauntlet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Waitrose has run the gauntlet of disgruntled loyal customers before.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2024

As markets run the gauntlet of four major central bank policy decisions this week, and Italy's election at the end of it, the trajectory for interest rates keeps rising all the time.

From Reuters • Sep. 20, 2022

“It’s a test of voters to run the gauntlet, to figure out these new rules and restrictions,” Hewitt said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2021

He had run the gauntlet of flames, risked his life several times in a futile effort to locate his young nieces and nephew, and barely managed to escape.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy