bloody but unbowed

bloody but unbowed

Still willing to continue despite stress or setbacks. The troops emerged from the brutal battle bloody but unbowed. We were bloody but unbowed after the board rejected our first proposal—we just resolved to make a better pitch next time.
See also: bloody, but, unbowed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

bloody but unbowed

Fig. showing signs of a struggle, but not defeated. (Originally referring to the head. From the poem Invictus by William Earnest Henley.) Liz emerged from the struggle, her head bloody but unbowed. We are bloody but unbowed and will fight to the last.
See also: bloody, but, unbowed
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

bloody (or bloodied) but unbowed

proud of what you have achieved despite having suffered great difficulties or losses.
See also: bloody, but, unbowed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

bloody but unbowed

Wounded or scarred, but not defeated. The term, expressing fierce defiance, comes from the Victorian poet William Ernest Henley’s most famous work, “Invictus:” “Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed.”
See also: bloody, but, unbowed
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • bloodied but unbowed
  • unbowed
  • with bloody hand
  • get a bloody nose
  • bloody
  • scream bloody murder
  • scream bloody/blue murder, to
  • yell bloody murder
  • cries
  • cried