English · Idiom Historical

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Preserved but no longer current.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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

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.

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