den

beard (one) in (one's) den

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. The phrase is a variation of the Biblical proverb "beard the lion in his den." OK, who is going to beard the boss in his den and tell him that the deal isn't happening?
See also: beard, den

beard the lion

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. Refers to a proverb based on a Bible story from I Samuel, in which a shepherd, David, hunts down a lion that stole a lamb, grasps it by the beard, and kills it. Risks very often don't turn out well, but if you don't face them and beard the lion, you will never achieve the success you truly desire.
See also: beard, lion

beard the lion in his den

To confront risk or danger head on, especially for the sake of possible personal gain. Refers to a proverb based on a Bible story from I Samuel, in which a shepherd, David, hunts down a lion that stole a lamb, grasps it by the beard, and kills it. A risk very often doesn't turn out well, but if you don't face it and beard the lion in his den, you will never achieve the success you truly desire.
See also: beard, den, lion

den of iniquity

A place where seedy activities happen. I'm not surprised to hear that the police raided that club again—it's a den of iniquity!
See also: den, iniquity, of

the lion's den

A particularly dangerous, hostile, or oppressive place or situation, especially due to an angry or sinister person or group of people within it. I felt like I was walking into the lion's den when I went in front of the board for my annual review.
See also: den

walk into the lion's den

To enter into a particularly dangerous, hostile, or oppressive place or situation, especially due to an angry or sinister person or group of people within it. I felt like I was walking into the lion's den when I went in front of the board for my annual review.
See also: den, walk
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

beard the lion in his den

 and beard someone in his den
Prov. to confront someone on his or her own territory. I spent a week trying to reach Mr. Toynbee by phone, but his secretary always told me he was too busy to talk to me. Today I walked straight into his office and bearded the lion in his den. If the landlord doesn't contact us soon, we'll have to beard him in his den.
See also: beard, den, lion

den of iniquity

a place filled with criminal activity or wickedness. The town was a den of iniquity and vice was everywhere. Police raided the gambling house, calling it a den of iniquity.
See also: den, iniquity, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

beard the lion

Confront a danger, take a risk, as in I went straight to my boss, bearding the lion. This term was originally a Latin proverb based on a Bible story (I Samuel 17:35) about the shepherd David, who pursued a lion that had stolen a lamb, caught it by its beard, and killed it. By Shakespeare's time it was being used figuratively, as it is today. Sometimes the term is amplified to beard the lion in his den, which may combine the allusion with another Bible story, that of Daniel being shut in a lions' den for the night (Daniel 6:16-24).
See also: beard, lion
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a den of iniquity

If a place is a den of iniquity, a lot of immoral things happen there. As time went on, he realised he was working in a den of iniquity and that the corruption spread right to the top of the organization.
See also: den, iniquity, of

walk into the lion's den

COMMON If you walk into the lion's den, you deliberately place yourself in a dangerous or difficult situation. Confident that he had done no wrong, the Minister last night walked into the lion's den of his press accusers, looked them in the eye, and fought back. Note: Other verbs such as go, step, or venture can be used instead of walk. We need to win tonight's game, but we are going into the lion's den without one of our key men. Note: You can also say that someone is thrown or sent into the lion's den if they are put in a difficult or dangerous situation. She was eagerly accepted by the teaching agency, and thrown straight into the lion's den at a tough comprehensive school in Surrey. Note: This expression comes from the story in the Bible of Daniel, who was thrown into a den of lions because he refused to stop praying to God. However, he was protected by God and the lions did not hurt him. (Daniel 6)
See also: den, walk
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

beard the lion in his den (or lair)

confront or challenge someone on their own ground.
This phrase developed partly from the idea of being daring enough to take a lion by the beard and partly from the use of beard as a verb to mean ‘face’, i.e. to face a lion in his den.
See also: beard, den, lion

the lion's den

a demanding, intimidating, or unpleasant place or situation.
See also: den
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a den of iˈniquity/ˈvice

(disapproving) a place where people do bad things: She thinks that just because we sit around smoking and drinking beer the club must be a real den of iniquity.
See also: den, iniquity, of, vice

the ˌlion’s ˈden

a difficult situation in which you have to face a person or people who are unfriendly or aggressive towards you: Before each one of her press conferences, she felt as if she were going into the lion’s den.This idiom comes from the story of Daniel in the Bible, who went into a lion’s den (= home) as a punishment but was not hurt by the lion.
See also: den
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

den of thieves, a

A group of individuals or a place strongly suspected of underhanded dealings. This term appears in the Bible (Matthew 21:13) when Jesus, driving the moneychangers from the Temple, said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Daniel Defoe used the term in Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, and by the late eighteenth century it was well known enough to be listed with other collective terms such as “House of Commons” in William Cobbett’s English Grammar in a discussion of syntax relating to pronouns.
See also: den, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a woman's work is never done
  • teach a man to fish
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • casu consulto
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.
References in periodicals archive
Red fox takeover of Arctic fox breeding den: An observation from Yamal Peninsula, Russia.
Shifts in fox den occupancy in the greater Prudhoe Bay area, Alaska
Den sites were located via "homing in" (following increasing intensity of radiocollar signal until the den was identified; White and Garrott, 1990).
Uso y seleccion de madrigueras por parte de Conepatus chinga (Mephitidae) en un relicto de pastizal pampeano del centro de Argentina
Social media coach Natalie Reynolds is a member of The Desk Den. Natalie said: "The Desk Den opened at just the right time for me.
The global co-working phenomenon comes to Wales!
View Den of Geek!'s latest YouTube videos, including the latest video game trailers and teasers.
Den of Geek! Releases Official Android App to Google Play
PC Neil Cowen, neighbourhood beat manger for the area, said: "There was clear evidence that this den was being used to drink alcohol and smoke drugs.
Youngsters' drinking den is destroyed
Jahrhunderts heisst in diesem Fall, dass vorwiegend solche Dokumente ausgewahlt wurden, die etwas Neues oder Spektakulares im Hinblick auf musikasthetische Sachverhalte bewegten und in den folgenden 100 Jahren- in verschiedene Richtungen hin-Schule machten oder auch sich selbst uberlebten.
Dokumente zur Musik des 20 Jahrhunderts
There were some patches of thick vegetation between dunes and low-laying areas offering perfect den sites for porcupines.
A Delivery System for Carbon Monoxide Fumigation of Indian Crested Porcupine, Hystrix indica, Den Using Two-Ingredient Cartridge
There is still no Dan's Den community centre but Dan's Den skateboard park opened in 2003.
Memory lives on through Dan's Den
Eine entscheidende Wende kam in der Mitte der 1680er Jahre, als zwischen den estlandischen und livlandischen Geistlichen zuerst ein heftiger Konflikt wegen der ubersetzung des revalestnischen Neuen Testaments ausbrach.
Discussions about the Estonian literary language in the second half of the 17th century: arguments and examples/Diskussionen uber die Estnische schriftsprache in der zweiten halfte des 17. Jahrhunderts: argumente und beispiele
Conspecifics visiting the natal den may present a risk in the form of predation or disease transmission.
Maternal response to conspecific visits at natal dens in raccoons (Procyon lotor)
In a report, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said the raiding team served a search warrant issued by Judge Cecilyn Burges-Villivert, of Regional Trial Court Branch 89 in Quezon City, on a suspected drug den on 3532 G.
Narcs raid suspected drug den in heavily populated Tondo area
Van den Berg underwent his medical on Wednesday before agreeing personal terms to become the European champions' first addition of the summer transfer window.
Liverpool complete first signing of the summer
The signing of Van den Berg is being viewed inside the club as a big coup given the level of interest in the young centre-back.
Liverpool seal first transfer of the summer as Sepp van den Berg joins from PEC Zwolle; Van den Berg underwent his medical on Wednesday before agreeing personal terms to become the club's first signing of the summer
Dabei lege ich den Fokus auf die mehrheitlich deutschsprachigen Lander (Deutschland, Osterreich, Schweiz), doch ziehe ich zum Vergleich auch andere Lander heran.
Wider das Kastenwesen: Fur mehr institutionelle Durchlassigkeit zwischen Universitat und Fachhochschule/Against the Caste System: In Favour of Greater Freedom of Movement between Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences