Turning The Other Cheek

This idiom has biblical origins. Christians urged to "turn the other cheek" after they have been struck by a fist are expected to act with politeness and not retaliate against someone who has injured them. When used as an idiom, this usually refers to injury to one's pride through words, not physical injury.


Example: (Subject: George W. Bush's new memoirs) And he's not out to trash Obama in his new book. The Democrat, in his 2008 presidential campaign, spared no effort to criticize Bush for taking the U.S. to war in Iraq, for letting the effort in Afghanistan flag and for presiding over an economy sinking into the Great Recession.

Bush turns the other cheek, merely praising Obama's decision to add troops in Afghanistan.