pull oneself together

[Olenek]

Hi,

To pull oneself together and To screw up one’s courage.

Do they have the same or different meaning?
Do you use them or another idioms with this meaning?

Thanks!

[freezeframe]

Hi,

To pull oneself together and To screw up one’s courage.

Do they have the same or different meaning?
Do you use them or another idioms with this meaning?

Thanks!

Not to me.
Pull yourself together = control yourself (your emotions and such); this I hear often

screw up your courage = do something that makes you nervous/afraid; this I have only ever read in books, never heard anyone actually say it

[BobK]

Not to me.
Pull yourself together = control yourself (your emotions and such); this I hear often

screw up your courage = do something that makes you nervous/afraid; this I have only ever read in books, never heard anyone actually say it

An alternative to 'pull yourself together' is 'get a grip [of yourself]'. This is a bit dated, and is often seen in the form 'get a grip, man' (it's the sort of thing you hear in WW1 movies).

I've certainly heard 'screw up your courage', but more common is 'get your nerve up'. Once you've done this, you can 'hold your nerve'.

In educated circles you may also hear the Shakespearean 'screw your courage to the sticking point' (used as a knowing quote - Henry V at Agincourt I think) - which seems to me a very neat image, if rather too precious to be thought idiomatic!

b

[SanMar]

I hear and use "You need to suck it up! or suck it up" meaning you have to hold in the tears, emotion, whininess ect. and stay in control, or move on.

It's not very compassionate but it isn't necessarily uncaring either. It's generally seen as a bit of tough love.

Not a teacher.

[freezeframe]

Recently "man up" has become popular thanks to the (in)famous use of it by a Tea Party candidate.

Though it's used a lot as a joke now by people of liberal persuasion.

This is a cool article: The Meaning of ‘Man Up’

In recent years, man up and cowboy up have been joined by other “X up” macho-isms. Some evoke what might be politely termed testicular fortitude, like sack up and nut up, dated by the slang lexicographer Grant Barrett to 1994 and 1999, respectively. Last year’s movie “Zombieland” even showcased the provocative tagline “Nut up or shut up.” It’s not all about cartoonish masculinity, though. There’s still the notion of the stand-up guy, the mensch. In a nice mash-up of idioms, Rabbi Daniel Polish has interpreted the Torah story of Joseph and his brothers as a parable of — what else? — mensching up.

[BobK]

And before 'man up' there was the equally obnoxious 'be a man'. There's also 'take it [like a man]/[on the chin]'. But this is an exhortation to do something more than just 'screw [/pluck] your courage up'.

b