Idiom
give someone a bloody nose
Meaning
To defeat or frustrate someone, but without doing any permanent damage.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The underdog team gave the champions a bloody nose in the final match.”
“Although the smaller company lost the contract, they gave the industry giant a bloody nose by winning several smaller bids.”
“The opposition party gave the government a bloody nose during the debate, forcing them to reconsider their controversial new policy.”
Examples
simple
“The underdog team gave the champions a bloody nose in the final match.”
contextual
“Although the smaller company lost the contract, they gave the industry giant a bloody nose by winning several smaller bids.”
complex
“The opposition party gave the government a bloody nose during the debate, forcing them to reconsider their controversial new policy.”
Key words
Related idioms
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