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Apepollo11Quick question - do Americans use the expression “bottled it” for being scared?
I’m wondering because in an episode of The Boys, Butcher says the related phrase “I lost my bottle” when he meant “I lost my rag”, and it made it to air, even though it made no sense in the context.
Not an american, but bottling something up means more like keeping something inside oneself. Like a wish, or trauma.
We have that too (UK), but here, when used without the “up” part, “bottling it” and “losing your bottle” means getting scared and deciding not to do something.
Essentially, bottle = courage.