Chrysti The Wordsmith: Bite the Bullet

Greetings verb of yours and welcome to Kristi the wordsmith. In Rudyard Kipling's 1891 novel called The Light that failed. A man comforts his wounded and distressed companion with these words. Steady Dickey steady bite on the bullet old man and don't let them think you're afraid. This is probably the first written reference to bite the bullet and expression that exhorts one to endure pain or any difficult situation with fortitude though Kipling recorded it in 1891. The phrase most likely precedes this printed debut by at least two decades. Most word watchers agree it arose on the battlefields of the Civil War where campaign surgeons operated without anesthesia on critically injured soldiers. The wounded were given objects such as sticks strips of leather or bullets to bite on to help them bear the pain and to stifle their screams. A ball it's made of malleable lead absorb the bite of the patient without breaking his teeth making it a useful and logical object for the task. Though

we now rely on anesthesia to eliminate the discomfort of surgery we still find the expression bite the bullet serviceable. It's now a cliche we use in all types of contexts. We might say we bite the bullet when we decide to pay off the credit card bill or stoically tackle an unpleasant task. Despite our reluctance I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good Dave herbivores. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.