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Old July 14, 2012, 10:16 PM
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JPablo JPablo is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Southern California
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Native Language: Spanish (Castilian, peninsular)
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I think, for a change, your context is going to be your best ally in choosing what goes better in your English expression.

Even if “bite the bullet” is not the best option, I see how it could be used in some specific contexts.

Probably “to take the bull by the horns” would work in many cases, or even saying it literally “to stop the bullets with your chest” simply could probably work in a very informal context.

Short of using “to stick your chest out” (against the bullets) or “to show that one has guts/balls” being a little bit reckless... I’d prefer to “play it close to the vest” (i.e., to avoid taking unnecessary risks), so if you say the opposite, “not playing it close to the vest at all” maybe you can express that feisty, aggressive and exuberant connotation that in Spain we express with “echarse al ruedo” “con un par...”
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