beard the lion

Idioms  

1. Confront a danger, take a risk, as in I went straight to my boss, bearding the lion. This term was originally a Latin proverb based on a Bible story (I Samuel 17:35) about the shepherd David, who pursued a lion that had stolen a lamb, caught it by its beard, and killed it. By Shakespeare's time it was being used figuratively, as it is today. Sometimes the term is amplified to beard the lion in his den, which may combine the allusion with another Bible story, that of Daniel being shut in a lions' den for the night (Daniel 6:16–24).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beard the lion

The topic courage, for instance, involved for him everything from audacity to spunk, Perseus to gamecock, to "beard the lion in his den."

From Time Magazine Archive

He could not make up his mind to beard the lion in his den; indeed at present he had every reason to fight shy of Welch’s.

From The Willoughby Captains by Reed, Talbot Baines

And darest thou then To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall?

From In Château Land by Wharton, Anne Hollingsworth

"And that is to beard the lion in his den?" suggested Laurence.

From The House of Strange Secrets A Detective Story by Bayly, A. Eric

And dar'st thou then To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall?

From Poems Teachers Ask For, Book Two by Various