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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

to visit an important person in the place where they work, in order to tell or ask them something unpleasant A group of journalists bearded the director in his den to ask how he was going to deal with the crisis. Who's going to beard the lion in her den and explain what's gone wrong?

an unpleasant situation in which a person or group of people criticizes you or your ideas It's your turn for the lions' den. Gordon wants to see you in his office now.

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).