Run the gauntlet

This expression has nothing to do with gauntlet as in glove. There are two distinct etymologies for the word gauntlet. The first and oldest is gauntlet meaning a glove where gauntlet is a diminutive of the Old Norse/Germanic word gant for glove. From this etymology, we derive the expression take up or throw down the gauntlet meaning to issue or take up a challenge. The second etymology is gauntlet meaning a course or lane from the Swedish gatlopp, which, according to the OED, entered the language during The Thirty Years War (1618-1648). (This word is listed in the OED as gantlope.) From this etymology we get the expression run the gauntlet which is a military punishment dating from 1646 in which the offender, stripped to the waist, is forced to run along a course or lane flanked by two lines of soldiers who beat him with sticks or heavy rope ends. The figurative meaning of running the gauntlet i.e. exposing oneself to adverse circumstances was in use before the end of the 17th century.