rise to the occasion

Verb

rise to the occasion (third-person singular simple present rises to the occasion, present participle rising to the occasion, simple past rose to the occasion, past participle risen to the occasion)

1. (idiomatic) To show resolve or effectiveness in dealing with a difficulty.
   • Gabriel, though one of the quietest and most gentle men on earth, rose to the occasion, with martial promptness and vigour. "That's my fist. . . . Now — the first man in the parish that I hear prophesying bad of our mistress, why" (here the fist was raised and let fall as Thor might have done with...1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter 15, in Far from the Madding Crowd
   • As it happened, this particular ordeal was exceedingly severe, but nothing can excuse the absolute failure of the troops concerned to rise to the occasion.1902, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 38, in The Great Boer War

   Synonyms:

   rise to the challenge

2. (euphemistic, humorous, idiomatic) To achieve an erection of the penis.
   • To his comic fury and shame, the traveller's 'master part' fails to rise to the occasion, and the girl's innocence is preserved.2001, John R. Williams, The Life of Goethe: A Critical Biography