APAD: Run the gauntlet
Meaning:
To `run the gauntlet' is to face a barrage of criticism or harsh treatment.
For example, you could say:
- The CEO had to run the gauntlet of media criticism after the company's
stock price plummeted.
Background:
Gauntlets are sturdy gloves commonly used for gardening and other tasks. But
back in medieval times, gauntlets were part of a knight's armor, often made
of steel plates and used for both defense and attack.
In those days, when a dispute arose among nobles, they would literally "throw
down the gauntlet" as a challenge to a duel.
Another old custom involved a harsh punishment called "running the gauntlet."
Offenders were stripped to the waist and forced to run between two rows of
soldiers who whipped and beat them. These beatings were so severe that the
victims often died - and many of those that didn't may well have wished they
had, as survivors were sometimes executed afterwards. This punishment is the
source of the term `running the gauntlet' and was used by both the British
army and navy.
You might think that "running the gauntlet" refers to the armored gloves, but
it actually comes from an old Swedish word, "gatlopp," meaning "gate-run."
This referred to the passage the punished person had to run through.
...
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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The description reminded me of a scene in the old gym, Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Here's what happened when someone earned his blackbelt, usually after 10 years
of hard training.
