honey badger
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈhʌni ˈbædʒər/
- Slang
:
persona valiente
- The honey badger is known for its fearlessness.
Examples
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After seeing her handle the crisis, it was clear she was a real honey badger in the office.
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Despite his small size, the running back played like a honey badger and never gave up.
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Journalists described the activist as a honey badger for her relentless pursuit of justice.
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You have to be a real honey badger to tackle that challenge.
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Despite the daunting challenges ahead, she approached the meeting like a honey badger, ready to face anything.
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He tackled the tough problems with the determination of a honey badger, showing no fear of what lay ahead.
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Known for his bravery, he was often called a honey badger because he never backed down from a fight.
How Tough
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally interpretable as a type of badger associated with honey, so a B1 learner who knows 'honey' and 'badger' would infer an animal referent. However, the evaluative sense 'extremely tough/fearless' is a cultural/metaphorical extension based on the species' reputation and is not directly predictable from the constituent meanings, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Honey badger as a nickname comes from the animal's habit of going into beehives for honey and not backing down when attacked. So calling someone a honey badger means 'extremely tough and fearless'.