Meaning of Idiom “Have No Stomach For…”
To ‘have no stomach for something’ means to find it unacceptable, intolerable, or unpleasant. When we have no stomach for something, it means we are determined not to do it, experience it, etc.
Although the expression is often used in regards to something obviously unpleasant or distasteful, it can be used for almost anything a person doesn’t want to do.
A related idiom is ‘to stomach something.’
Usage
A person might have no stomach for a long boring meeting, a smelly place, or even a party if the person just doesn’t feel like company. So, this idiom is general purpose.
It is sometimes, though rarely, expressed as ‘to have a weak stomach,’ to express the same meaning. It can also be expressed as ‘to not have the stomach for something.’
Examples of Use
“I had no stomach for this morning’s staff meeting, so I pretended to have an emergency.”
“Donny has no stomach for horror movies. They give him nightmares.”
“For a soldier, he had no stomach for fighting, but he became an excellent medic.”
Origin
This idiom stems from the medieval belief that the stomach was the source of physical courage. If one had a weak stomach, he lacked courage.
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