Nerves As In "Have Nerves Of Steel"
I do understand why it is nerves not nerve as in "be a bag/bundle of nerves" because 'nerves'[plural] by itself means worry.
Yet, I don't understand why it is nerves not nerve as in "have nerves of steel", which means to be very brave.
According to dictionaries, nerve that means courage is uncountable. Contradictorily, 'have nerves of steel' is fossilised. This fact is baffling.
Top answer
anonymous I do understand why it is nerves not nerve as in "be a bag/bundle of nerves" because 'nerves'[plural] by itself means worry. That's true, and it plays into it, but that's not why. "Nerves" there is literal, the fibers in your body that carry chemo-electrical impulses.
- anonymous I do understand why it is nerves not nerve as in "be a bag/bundle of nerves" because 'nerves'[plural] by itself means worry.
- That's true, and it plays into it, but that's not why.
- "Nerves" there is literal, the fibers in your body that carry chemo-electrical impulses.
- It is a jocular expression.
- The use of "nerves" there can also be seen in the related expression "getting on one's nerves", irritating one.
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anonymousI do understand why it is nerves not nerve as in "be a bag/bundle of nerves" because 'nerves'[plural] by itself means worry.
That's true, and it plays into it, but that's not why. "Nerves" there is literal, the fibers in your body that carry chemo-electrical impulses. It is a jocular expression. The use of "nerves" there can also be seen in the rel
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