to screw oneself up to it
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To force oneself to face it, etc.; to get oneself into the right frame of mind for doing some unpleasant or difficult job.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to screw oneself up to it” mean?
To force oneself to face it, etc.; to get oneself into the right frame of mind for doing some unpleasant or difficult job.
Is “to screw oneself up to it” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.