nerve oneself, take heart; take heart, pluck up heart of grace; hold up one’s head, screw one’s courage to the sticking place; come up to scratch; stick to one’s guns, standfire[obs3], stand against; bear up, bear up against; hold out &c. (persevere) 604a.
     put a bold face upon; show a bold front, present a bold front; show
fight; face the music.
     bell the cat, take the bull by the horns, beard the lion in his den,
march up to the cannon’s mouth, go through fire and water, run the gantlet.
     give courage, infuse courage, inspire courage; reassure, encourage,
embolden, inspirit, cheer, nerve, put upon one’s mettle, rally, raise a rallying cry; pat on the back, make a man of., keep in countenance. 
     Adj. courageous, brave; valiant, valorous; gallant, intrepid;
spirited, spiritful[obs3]; high-spirited, high-mettled[obs3]; mettlesome, plucky; manly, manful; resolute; stout,.stout-hearted; iron-hearted, lion-hearted; heart of oak; Penthesilean.
     bold, bold-spirited; daring, audacious; fearless, dauntless,
dreadless[obs3], aweless; undaunted, unappalled, undismayed, unawed, unblanched, unabashed, unalarmed, unflinching, unshrinking[obs3], unblanching[obs3], unapprehensive; confident, self-reliant; bold as a lion, bold as brass.
     enterprising, adventurous; venturous, venturesome; dashing,
chivalrous; soldierly &c. (warlike) 722; heroic.
     fierce, savage; pugnacious &c. (bellicose) 720.
     strong-minded, hardy, doughty; firm &c. (stable) 150; determined &c.
(resolved) 604; dogged, indomitable &c. (persevering) 604a.
     up to, up to the scratch; upon one’s mettle; reassured &c. v.;
unfeared[obs3], undreaded[obs3].

Phr. one’s blood being up; courage sans peur [Fr];fortes fortuna adjuvat [Lat][Terence]; “have I not in my time heard lions roar” [Taming of the Shrew]; “I dare do all that may become a man” [Macbeth]; male vincetis sed vincite [Lat][Ovid]; omne solum forti patria[Lat]; “self-trust is the essence of heroism” [Emerson]; stimulos dedit oemula virtus [Lat][Lucan]; “strong and great, a hero” [Longfellow]; teloque animus proestantior omni [Lat][Ovid]; “there, is always safety in valor” [Emerson]; virtus ariete fortier[Lat][obs3].

—­ p. 294 —­

     #862. [Excess of fear.] Cowardice. —­ N. cowardice, pusillanimity;
cowardliness &c. adj.; timidity, effeminacy.
     poltroonery, baseness; dastardness[obs3], dastardy[obs3]; abject fear,
funk; Dutch courage; fear &c. 860; white feather, faint heart; cold feet * [U.  S.], yellow streak*.
     coward, poltroon, dastard, sneak, recreant; shy cock, dunghill cock;
coistril[obs3], milksop, white liver, lily liver, nidget[obs3], one that cannot say “bo” to a goose; slink; Bob Acres, Jerry Sneak.
     alarmist, terrorist|!, pessimist; runagate &c. (fugitive) 623. 
     V. quail &c. (fear) 860; be cowardly &c. adj., be a coward &c. n.;
funk; cower,skulk, sneak; flinch, shy, fight shy,