the.com/mettle
the grit that shows up only after comfort taps out and quits
means a person's courage, resilience, and strength of character, especially as tested under pressure
from Originally just a variant spelling of "metal" — the two words were interchangeable for centuries. The figurative sense (the "stuff" a person is made of, like the quality of a blade's steel) gradually peeled off into its own spelling, so that by around the 18th century "mettle" carried the temperament while "metal" kept the ore.
- twin word
- Originally just a variant spelling of metal
- proving it
- Tested by fire, not by sunny days
- horse roots
- Once described a spirited horse's fighting temperament
- on your
- The idiom means rising to a hard challenge