be on (one's) mettle



be on (one's) mettle

To be determined to succeed and thus prove one's worth, often in a difficult or unpleasant situation. I know my employees think I'm too young to be their supervisor, so I have to be on my mettle every day at the office.
See also: mettle, on

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Charline-French
Rolland[rɔ:'læŋ]
Hemi-Maori
NergİS-Turkish
Joaquima-Catalan
Morgan (1)MAWR-gən (English)Welsh, English, French