like a honey badger
- idiom
- Texting
:
como un tejón
- He tackled each obstacle at work like a honey badger, never backing down.
Examples
-
She defended her beliefs like a honey badger, refusing to back down despite the opposition.
-
Whenever he feels threatened, he reacts like a honey badger and stands his ground.
-
Despite criticism, she defended her decision like a honey badger.
-
She approached the challenge like a honey badger!
-
He tackled the project like a honey badger.
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He faces difficult situations like a honey badger, showing no fear and always pushing forward.
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Whenever faced with criticism, she responds like a honey badger, standing firm in her convictions.
Synonyms
48
1.7
Showing courage even when afraid
15
3.8
In a brave way
8
3.9
In a brave way without fear
4
7.4
To do something with great energy and effort
4
7.1
In a way that does not show fear or hesitation when facing danger
1
8.0
In a way that shows no fear
1
7.7
In a brave way without showing fear
Antonyms
How Brave
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a simile comparing someone to an animal, so a learner who knows 'like', 'honey' and 'badger' will recognize a comparison but not the specific trait being invoked: 'honey badger' is culturally known as fearless/aggressive, which is not predictable from the literal words. Because understanding the intended sense depends on extra (cultural/encyclopedic) knowledge about the animal rather than pure compositional meaning, the expression is partially but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Like a honey badger comes from the tough little animal the honey badger, which will fight snakes and bees and keeps going even when it is hurt. So, to say someone is like a honey badger means they act 'bravely' and 'without fear' when facing danger or hard problems.