to take a dare
1
5.6
- phrasal verb
:
aceptar un reto
- When it was my turn, I took a dare to jump off the high diving board at the pool.
Examples
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He took a dare to eat a spoonful of hot sauce during the party.
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And if you care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.
Blog text (11) -
You know, Steve Brodie never takes a dare.
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I couldn't take a dare, could I?
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Listen, Swipes, nobody could ever say that Steve Brodie never took a dare.
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Well, someday that four-flusher will take a dare that'll land him in the morgue with a lily on his chest.
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He looks like a poor little rich kid who has been bullied by his frat brothers to take a dare that appeared to be a harmless thrill when seen from the front porch, but when he gets in the action, it turns out to be a dangerous rumble in the street.
Blog text (29) -
After a few drinks, she took a dare to rollerblade down the steep hill.
Synonyms
68
6.2
To be brave enough to do something bold or rude
18
5.5
Decide to do something difficult or risky after thinking about it for a long time
3
3.2
To accept a difficult task to test yourself
1
8.6
To accept a challenge and try to meet it
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to accept a challenge' is directly and transparently built from 'take' (to accept/receive) combined with 'dare' (a provoked challenge); the article 'a' does not add idiomatic meaning. This follows a common English pattern (take + noun = accept something) and is cross-linguistically straightforward, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The verb take a dare comes from a simple image: someone saying 'I dare you' and another person stepping forward to take the dare and try the risky action. That's why it means 'to accept and try something difficult or risky'.