This phrase means to seize the initiative and not to shrink from dealing with a difficult problem or not to run away from a threat. It comes from Spanish and is known in England since the seventeenth century. The phrase derives from the traditional Spanish bullfighting, where a toreador, who executes various formal moves with the goal of appearing graceful and confident, sometimes tries to hold the bull by its horns when it runs at him.

Übersetzung:

den Stier bei den Hörnern packen

Gegenteil(e)

The opposite of "take the bull by the horns" is "to lack confidence in a difficult situation".

Synonym(e):

You could also say: to confront a difficulty baldly.