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Glite Dictionary
to eat the onion

to eat the onion

9.6
To face a difficult or unpleasant problem without avoiding it
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : enfrentar la situación
  • Sometimes, management just has to eat the onion and make tough decisions.

Examples

  • If you want things to improve, you need to eat the onion instead of avoiding the issue.

  • It's time for us to eat the onion and admit our mistakes.

  • You need to eat the onion and tell her the truth.

  • It's time to eat the onion about your finances.

  • If you want to resolve this conflict, you must eat the onion and address the problem directly.

  • We need to eat the onion and face the consequences of our actions.

  • Instead of delaying the conversation, it's better to eat the onion and have it now.

Synonyms

to face
vsto eat the onion
∞ 2.2

To deal with a difficult situation or person

is focused on handling unpleasant realities directly rather than any general challenge
to confront
vsto eat the onion
359 4.4

Face a difficult problem or fear directly and bravely

is about addressing unpleasant tasks directly without implying boldness
to face up
vsto eat the onion
  • Informal
38 4.1

To accept and deal with a difficult situation directly and bravely

is about handling unpleasant tasks directly but not necessarily by first accepting them
to face the truth
vsto eat the onion
16 3.7

Accept real facts even when they are painful

is about handling unpleasant tasks or realities broadly rather than only admitting truth
to face head-on
vsto eat the onion
9 4.2

Deal with a problem directly instead of avoiding it

is about handling unpleasant tasks directly without stressing boldness
to take the bull by the horns
vsto eat the onion
  • Informal
4 5.6

To deal with a difficult problem directly and bravely

is about handling problems directly but not always with bold forceful action
to swallow the leek
vsto eat the onion
  • Archaic
9.9

To accept something unpleasant during talks to avoid bigger problems

is about actively handling unpleasant tasks directly rather than passively accepting them
to suck a lemon
vsto eat the onion
  • Informal
9.9

To accept and deal with an unpleasant situation without complaining

is about actively dealing with unpleasant tasks directly not merely enduring them

Antonyms

to avoid
∞ 1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

to shirk
19 6.3

To avoid doing work because it is hard or unpleasant

How Direct

to eat the onion
  • Informal
9.6
to face
∞ 2.2
to acknowledge
367 3.8
to bite the bullet
  • Informal
12 5.8

Surface Forms

eat the onion infinitive
eating the onion present participle
eats the onion third person singular
ate the onion past
eaten the onion past participle

Morphology

eat + the + onion

The meaning is metaphorically related to the literal parts: onions are unpleasant to eat and make one cry, so 'eat the onion' plausibly conveys accepting an unpleasant experience. However, this is not a standard, fully compositional English pattern and the relation is figurative rather than directly predictable, so a B1 learner would only partially be able to infer the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom eat the onion comes from the image of someone forced to eat a strong, bitter onion, which makes them cry but gets the job done. People used that picture to show you must accept something unpleasant instead of avoiding it. So, eat the onion means 'to face a difficult or unpleasant task directly'.