take the bull by its horns

[Casiopea]

by their horn isn't an option, right?

lol!

Bull's are male. No need for gender-nuetral their. Or is there?

[queenbu]

Bull's are male. No need for gender-nuetral their. Or is there?

Bull's??? Casiopea! That's what you get by teaching kids!

[Casiopea]

Bull's??? Casiopea! That's what you get by teaching kids!

Actually, that's just me.

[BobK]

Please note that we are interested in 'take a bull by its/the horns' as an idiom not in the literal sense. So we can't generalize a google search.

I don't understand. I would hazard a guess that not one of those Google hits is literal. The collocation, in British English, is 'take the bull by the horns'; usage of that phrase on UK web pages is both relevant and probative.

Perhaps your point is that this discussion of the accuracy of the Idioms section belongs in another thread?



PS - I've just seen Casi's link to Answers.com, attesting "bull by its horns" in the UK. Maybe I should revisit my espousal of the.

[Casiopea]

Cowboys...and their rodeo stories.

[queenbu]

I've had time to re-read carefully post #15, Casiopea. Well, well, well - wonders will never cease! Who would have thought of using 'their' with a singular meaning until yesterday??? However, I still prefer your 'ee'.
I don't understand. I would hazard a guess that not one of those Google hits is literal. The collocation, in British English, is 'take the bull by the horns'; usage of that phrase on UK web pages is both relevant and probative.
What I meant was that when I hit 'take the bull by its horns' I get links like Venezuela’s Passion: Twisting the Tail of an Angry Beast - New York Times.

[BobK]

...
I don't understand. I would hazard a guess that not one of those Google hits is literal. The collocation, in British English, is 'take the bull by the horns'; usage of that phrase on UK web pages is both relevant and probative.
What I meant was that when I hit 'take the bull by its horns' I get links like Venezuela’s Passion: Twisting the Tail of an Angry Beast - New York Times.

Ah, I hadn't thought of that sort of perversion! But the page isn't from the UK.

b