run the gauntlet
to be criticized or attacked by a lot of people

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

run the gauntlet
1.
to experience severe criticism or great difficulties.
Every idea that is presented must run the gauntlet of the Review Committee, and such reviews are never pleasant.

2.
to have to move by a line or group people trying to get your attention.
Before you get to the beach, you have run the gauntlet of shouting souvenir sellers and dirty snack bars.

Usage notes: sometimes spelled gantlet
Etymology: based on the old-fashioned military meaning of run the gauntlet (= to punish a soldier by forcing him to run between two lines of men who hit him as he goes by them)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

run the gauntlet
to face a hard test or painful experience
I had to run the gauntlet of many interviews before I got the job.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

run the gauntlet
v. phr.
1. To be made to run between two lines of people facing each other and be hit by them with clubs or other weapons.
Joe had to run the gauntlet as part of his initiation into the club.
2. To face a hard test; bear a painful experience.
Ginny had to run the gauntlet of her mother's questions about how the ink spot got on the dining room rug.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲