Meaning
To seize control of a situation and push ahead with determination, often brushing aside restraint or opposition. It can carry a second shade: throwing off control altogether and charging ahead, unstoppable once started. Usually said of a person or group that stops deferring and acts on its own initiative. Energetic and broadly approving, though it can hint at momentum that is hard to rein in. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The image comes from horse riding. A bit is the metal mouthpiece of a bridle (the word in this sense dates to the Middle Ages), and reins work by pressing it against the horse's mouth; a horse that grips the bit between its teeth deadens that pressure and bolts, leaving the rider with no control. The Phrase Finder records the earliest known citation in John Dryden's satirical poem The Medal (1682): 'To take the bit between his teeth and fly / To the next headlong steep of anarchy.' Idiom Origins dates figurative use generally to the mid-1600s and explains the paradox: literally a horse with the bit between its teeth cannot be controlled, while figuratively a person who does so has taken charge - what the two share is unstoppable momentum.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- have the bit between one's teeth
- take the bit in one's teeth
- with the bit between his teeth
Usage Examples
- Once the committee approved the pilot, Elena took the bit between her teeth and had the program running within a month.
- He got the bit between his teeth on the final climb and nobody could hold him back.
- The interns have taken the bit between their teeth with the new campaign, so management has mostly let them run.