grab the bull by the horns

grab the bull by the horns

To approach, confront, or deal with a problem or difficult situation directly and with clear, confident action. I grabbed the bull by the horns and confronted my manager about the blatant sexism in the office. I've been complaining about being out of work for too long—it's time to grab the bull by the horns and go find a job!
See also: bull, by, grab, horn
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

grab

/take the bull by the horns
To deal with a problem directly and resolutely.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • grab
  • grab the bull by its horns
  • take the bull by its horns
  • take the bull by the horns
  • take the bull by the horns, to
  • tough row to hoe
  • a long row to hoe
  • a tough row to hoe
  • hoe
  • a hard row to hoe
References in periodicals archive
"It's a great challenge for me and us all to step up and grab the bull by the horns."
Grab the bull by the horns, take a positive approach to personal issues and keep your mind off the past.
The video includes Ruzhi receiving instruction on how to literally grab the bull by the horns. He is taught how to hold onto the horns and twist the horns so the head of the bull turns back and is toppled.
To us, at The Chronicle, the arguments above lend credence to the fact that democracy is expensive, and the government should either be prepared to grab the bull by the horns, or devise workable and sustainable methods, and not a reduction in Presidential convoys.
London: Ireland's captain Katie Mullan said on the eve of their historic Women's World Cup final on Sunday that her team of amateurs would wake up and "grab the bull by the horns and go for it".
But there seems to be a new breed in town, an eager young crew who want to grab the bull by the horns and have their say to bring about change.
So it's down to us as a group to grab the bull by the horns and give it everything to qualify."
"It took about 15 years but in October I decided to finally grab the bull by the horns and get back to the shape I used to be in.
However, I expect William Buick to grab the bull by the horns and make the running on him and that could prove crucial in what is likely to be a tactical affair.
I know I'm going to have to grab the bull by the horns sooner rather than later, but the thought of traipsing up and down the aisles really does bring me out in a cold sweat.
What we need to jump-start our economy and to create jobs is for our elected officials to step up, grab the bull by the horns and take necessary steps to make our state more business friendly.
After the rumours emerged again, however, Roberts said: "I decided to grab the bull by the horns myself" and didn't tell his superiors.
"We wanted to grab the bull by the horns and help make sense of each visit to the optician, so people feel they can stop saying yes to products they probably don't need, have the confidence to ask the right questions and buy glasses where they want to."
We need to grab the bull by the horns. There's a great deal of opportunity here--not just for ingenuity but for innovation--to have a generation of young African American men and women learn about and be trained in fields that are going to be the future of jobs.
GLOOM NO MORE Sometimes you have to grab the bull by the horns. Virtually everything had to go.