The metaphor to "bite the bullet" is fascinating because it's so easy to misinterpret as "take the bullet", when actually biting a bullet is a different (and much less risky) action, but the metaphor works just fine even if you misinterpret it.

The metaphor to "bite the bullet" is fascinating because it's so easy to misinterpret as "take the bullet", when actually biting a bullet is a different (and much less risky) action, but the metaphor works just fine even if you misinterpret it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bite_the_bullet

Maybe because both sayings refer to doing something unpleasant, but one is less risky nevertheless. 
Love that we discuss etymology and all kinds of nerdy stuff here instead of twitter drama.