A: Will you play basketball with us tomorrow? B: Sorry, but I just have no stomach for that. A: Then how about seeing a movie? B: That’s good! Note: This idiom can either mean “to lack the courage, determination, or resolve to do, face, or experience something unpleasant” or literally “to be unable to tolerate certain food.” This expression, first recorded in the early 1700s, uses “stomach” in the sense of “appetite” or “relish.” The opposite is “to have the stomach for.” For example: I love living in India, but having no stomach for spicy food makes every meal rather difficult. I hate scary movies, but my girlfriend has the stomach for them. |