bite back

verb — 2 senses

bite back

verb

1

To retaliate; to give a sharp retort.

2

To repress (an emotion or a response).

He bit back his anger and managed a courteous reply.
No one bites back as hard on their anger / None of my pain and woe / Can show through1971, The Who, “Behind Blue Eyes”, in Who's Next:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.