run the gauntlet
English
Alternative forms
- run the gantlet, run the gantlope, run the gauntlope
Etymology
From a corruption of run the gauntlope, run the gantelope. More at gantlope.
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
run the gauntlet (third-person singular simple present runs the gauntlet, present participle running the gauntlet, simple past ran the gauntlet, past participle run the gauntlet)
- (idiomatic) To undergo a series of tests or challenges.
- 1985, J. G. Thirlwell, “Anything (Viva!)”, in Nail, performed by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel:
- Run the gauntlet north and south
March on up to the cannon's mouth
And say I can do any goddamn thing I want
Synonyms
- (archaic) pass the pikes
Translations
to undergo a series of tests or challenges
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See also
- gantlope
- run the gamut (not to be confused)