trial by fire

1. A test of one's abilities to perform well under pressure, as in Finishing this buge list of chores in time for the wedding is really a trial by fire. This expression alludes to the medieval practice of determining a person's guilt by having them undergo an ordeal, such as walking barefoot through a fire.

Example Sentences

The first week with the teams—which Palantir intentionally set up as a trial by fire—proved difficult for all the fellows.

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On this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode of Amicus, co-hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed this increasingly heated dispute, and why some members of the court have warned that it amounts to a trial by fire for American self-governance.

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Not unlike her first day on the job as director-to-be of AIIMS, which was nothing short of a trial by fire.

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“Thousands of people like me have had their trial by fire, only to be released and been told that it’s worth nothing,” said Corleto, who now works with Vera Institute of Justice, a national organization focused on criminal justice reform.

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“Our wedding was trial by fire and we survived,” she added.

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