Читать книгу Bees Knees and Barmy Armies - Origins of the Words and Phrases we Use Every Day - Harry Oliver - Страница 40

When you decide to ‘take the bull by the horns’ you face up to difficulty and adversity directly, and with as much conviction as possible. The phrase as we know it today has been in use since late in the eighteenth century and, while not the trickiest metaphor to understand, there are a couple of theories as to its origin. And yes, they do involve bulls. Some believe that it derives from the practice whereby Spanish bullfighters, after weakening the bull, would toy with the bull by swirling their capes at them and grabbing their horns. Others believe it derives from the sport of bull running in England, which started in the thirteenth century in the court of King John and continued until it was outlawed six centuries later.