square one's shoulders

1. Prepare to face adversity, as in She knew it wouldn't be easy but she squared her shoulders and faced the hostile audience. This expression transfers standing erect with the shoulders pulled back, forming an angle much like a square's right angle, to the situations calling for this stance. It was first recorded in 1819.

Example Sentences

Life would make slaves of all of us, if one did not sometimes square one's shoulders and say—'No, thank you, I have had enough!

From Project Gutenberg