Would Run the Gauntlet?
To Run the Gauntlet Means to Take Part in a Form of Corporal Punishment in Which the Party Judged Guilty Is Forced to Run Between Two Rows of Soldiers, Who...
To run the gauntlet means to take part in a form of corporal punishment in which the party judged guilty is forced to run between two rows of soldiers, who strike out and attack them with sticks or other weapons. Metaphorically, this expression is also used to express the idea of a public trial that one must overcome.
What is the meaning of idiom run the gauntlet?
Be exposed to danger, criticism, or other adversity, as in After he was misquoted in the interview, he knew he would have to run the gauntlet of his colleagues' anger.
What is the origin of the phrase running the gauntlet?
The term originated in the seventeenth century, when the Germans adopted this military punishment from the Swedes. It consisted of stripping a man to the waist and making him run between two rows of soldiers, who struck him with sticks or knotted cords.