What it means
To grit your teeth is to clamp your jaw and push through something you hate, awkward, painful, boring, whatever, without kicking off. You’re not enjoying it, you’re enduring it, putting on a brave face and waiting for it to be over. Said a lot when you’ve got no choice but to crack on, especially at work or on packed public transport.
Usage examples
"Sat by a bloke demolishing tuna on the Tube, then got pinged into a last minute meeting. I gritted my teeth, smiled, and soldiered on."
"It was a brutal last mile, but she gritted her teeth and finished."
"Just grit your teeth and get the injection over with."
Where it comes from
A plainly physical image: when bracing against pain, effort or fury, people instinctively clamp the jaw and grind the teeth together. To grit your teeth is to steel yourself and push through something hard or unpleasant by sheer force of will, swallowing the discomfort and not giving in. You grit your teeth and finish the race, sit through the criticism, or get the dreaded job done.
Other ways to say it
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