Idiom of the day :- Run the gauntlet of something/someone

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Suffer an attack/pressure/criticism A : Did you hear about Freda ? Apparently she had to run the gauntlet of dozens of newspaper reporters when she arrived at a charity dinner in a real fur coat. B : But lots of people wear real fur, why did they decide to pick on Freda. A : Well, the dinner was in aid of the local animal rights group ! Although gauntlet is an English word meaning glove, this expression has nothing to do with either England or gloves. It originates from the Swedish expression, gatlopp ( gata means gate and lopp means course ) which was a military punishment in the 17th century. Two lines of soldiers would stand facing each other and hit the punished man as he ran between them. Now running the gauntlet can refer to any situation which is unpleasant to bear because of the way you are treated.