Meaning of Idiom ‘Gird Up Your Loins’
To gird up your loins means to prepare and strengthen yourself for what is to come, especially mentally; to get ready for something difficult like hard work or difficult circumstances.
Usage Notes
This is an archaic idiom and, although it may still be understood by native speakers of English, it is often used humorously, if at all, mostly owing to the fact that one’s loins are often considered to be the pubic region or the sexual organs.
Examples Of Use
“It’s time we gird up our loins and get down to work.”
“I know you can’t stand my mother but she’s coming regardless so just gird up your loins and deal with it.”
“He girded up his loins and stepped into the ring with the 340-pound giant of a man.”
Origin
This expression appears to be of biblical origin, alluding to the idea that the long, loose garments worn in the ancient world had to be hitched up so that they did not impede a person’s movement. It is used literally in 1 Kings 18:45-6:
And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And… Elijah… girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel’.
The expression was also used figuratively in the New Testament, 1 Peter 1:13:
Wherefore gird up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you…
