# What does ‘take the bull by the horns’ mean?

To “take the bull by the horns” means to confront a difficulty directly. The image is old and English proverbial; Brewer's records it without fixing a single origin, though it is often linked to the risky control of a charging bull.

## What it means

- The image is old and English proverbial; Brewer's records it without fixing a single origin, though it is often linked to the risky control of a charging bull.

## Action steps

1. Used approvingly of decisive action.
2. Example: She took the bull by the horns and asked for the raise.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

---
Canonical: https://bestidiomanswers.com/answers/take-the-bull-by-the-horns
Author: Best Idiom Answers — https://bestidiomanswers.com
Publisher: Best Idiom Answers
Published: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.517741+00:00
Modified: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.517741+00:00
Last verified: 2026-07-18
License: Citation License 1.0 — https://bestexpertanswers.com/license
© Adolicious LLC