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run the gauntlet
run the gauntlet
1. Lit. to race, as a punishment, between parallel lines of men who thrash one as one runs. The knight was forced to doff his clothes and run the gauntlet.
2. and run the gauntlet of something Fig. to endure a series of problems, threats, or criticism. After the play, the director found himself running the gauntlet of questions and doubts about his ability.
run the gauntlet
1. to experience severe criticism or great difficulties Every idea that is presented must run the gauntlet of the Review Committee, and such reviews are never pleasant.
2. to have to move by a line or group people trying to get your attention
Before you get to the beach, you have run the gauntlet of shouting souvenir sellers and dirty snack bars. Usage notes: sometimes spelled gantlet
Etymology: based on the old-fashioned military meaning of run the gauntlet (to punish a soldier by forcing him to run between two lines of men who hit him as he goes by them)
run the gauntlet
to have to deal with a lot of people who are criticizing or attacking you (usually + of ) The minister had to run the gauntlet of anti-nuclear protesters when he arrived at the plant.
run the gauntlet
Be exposed to danger, criticism, or other adversity, as in After he was misquoted in the interview, he knew he would have to run the gauntlet of his colleagues' anger . This term, dating from the first half of the 1600s, comes from the word gantlope, which itself comes from the Swedish word gatlopp, for "lane-course." It referred to a form of military punishment where a man ran between two rows of soldiers who struck him with sticks or knotted ropes. Almost as soon as gantlope appeared, it was replaced by gauntlet. The word was being used figuratively for other kinds of punishment by 1661, when Joseph Glanvill wrote, "To print, is to run the gantlet, and to expose oneself to the tongues strapado" ( The Vanity of Dogmatizing, or Confidence in Opinion).
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Joop | | YO:P | Dutch |
| Alke | | - | Frisian |
| Mieszko | | MYESH-kaw | Polish |
| NataŠA | | - | Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian |
| Ephraim | | EE-free-im (English), EE-frəm (English), E-free-im (English), E-frəm (English) | Biblical, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek |
| Shakur | | - | Arabic |