strong stomach
4
5.5
- noun
:
estómago fuerte
- So for those of you who don't have a strong stomach, you might want to avert your eyes.
- got a strong stomach
- take a strong stomach
- need a strong stomach
Examples
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Bring a strong stomach or antacid tablets.
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You must have a strong stomach to watch that horror movie without feeling sick.
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I hope you have a strong stomach.
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You must have a strong stomach to want to see that sort of thing.
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I have a pretty strong stomach.
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I need a man with a strong stomach and a sober mind.
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I hope you've got a strong stomach.
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You must have a strong stomach, Mary Lou!
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Oh, listen, I am sorry to assign you to old smelly George here... ...but I hear tell you have a strong stomach.
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It takes a very strong stomach and a lot of faith (or just stubborn stupidity) to stick with Eric Sprott these days.
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Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'ability to tolerate unpleasant or nauseating things' is directly derivable from combining 'strong' (able to withstand) with 'stomach' (here used metaphorically for one's capacity or nerve). The metaphorical use of 'stomach' for tolerance is common and intuitive cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words is likely to infer the phrase's meaning.
Etymology
Strong stomach may come from the simple image of a physically strong stomach that can keep unpleasant food down instead of making someone sick. That's why it now means 'able to tolerate unpleasant or upsetting things without feeling sick or upset'.