belly of the beast
7
8.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
vientre de la bestia
- To understand the challenges we face, we have to go into the belly of the beast and confront the harsh realities.
- go into the belly of the beast
- live in the belly of the beast
- call it the belly of the beast
And I've I've also met good people in in those companies that are like in the belly of the beast trying to do something.
- And I've I've also met good people in in those companies that are like in the belly of the beast trying to do something.
- To be stoic and brave and wise and transformed before you've even emerge from the belly of the beast.
- They seem to all buy places in the same complex that I bought a place, you know, So I was more or less in the belly of the beast.
Examples
-
I'm inside the belly of the beast.
-
We plunge past the teeth, down the esophagus, into the belly of the beast—the "animistic roller coaster ride."
Fiction book (2000) -
You brought your kid to the belly of the beast.
-
Feels strange to walk right into the belly of the beast.
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Going into the belly of the beast, danger at every turn.
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We're digging right through to the belly of the beast.
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You've made it to the belly of the beast.
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At long last, we've arrived at the belly of the beast.
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I've been in the belly of the beast.
Blog text (19) -
While in the "belly of the beast," the hero's mission is to bring back with him a "treasure hard to attain."
Academic text (1992)
Synonyms
13
3.8
An area or situation where people are likely to be hurt
8
6.8
A situation where you face strong anger or danger from others
7
8.2
A situation of great danger and destruction, like war or a big fire
3
7.3
An unpleasant, chaotic place where people act badly toward each other
1
9.0
A very dangerous situation where people may not survive
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning is directly derivable from its parts: 'belly' indicates the interior/center and 'beast' denotes a dangerous creature, so 'belly of the beast' straightforwardly conveys being in the dangerous or most challenging part. This animal-body metaphor (interior = center of danger) is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents is likely to infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Belly of the beast is an idiom that creates a clear image: imagine being inside a huge animal, the belly of the beast, where you are right at the centre of danger. That's why it means 'the most dangerous or challenging part of a situation'.