Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Stiff upper lip
Stiff upper lip
One who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion. The phrase is most commonly heard as part of the idiom "keep a stiff upper lip", and has traditionally been used to describe an attribute of British people, who are sometimes perceived by other cultures as being unemotional. A sign of weakness is trembling of the upper lip, hence the saying keep a stiff upper lip. When a person's upper lip begins to tremble, it is one of the first signs that the person is scared or shaken by experiencing deep emotion.
0
0
Improve it
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary: American Idiom
- Industry/Domain: Language
- Category: Idioms
- Company:
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Navy SEALs
As part of the Navy's Sea, Air and Land Forces, the Navy SEALs are expertly trained to deliver highly specialized, intensely challenging warfare ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- World history(1480)
- Israeli history(1427)
- American history(1149)
- Medieval(467)
- Nazi Germany(442)
- Egyptian history(242)
History(6037) Terms
- Capacitors(290)
- Resistors(152)
- Switches(102)
- LCD Panels(47)
- Power sources(7)
- Connectors(7)
Electronic components(619) Terms
- News(147)
- Radio & TV broadcasting equipment(126)
- TV equipment(9)
- Set top box(6)
- Radios & accessories(5)
- TV antenna(1)
Broadcasting & receiving(296) Terms
- Automobile(10466)
- Motorcycles(899)
- Automotive paint(373)
- Tires(268)
- Vehicle equipment(180)
- Auto parts(166)
Automotive(12576) Terms
- Cheese(628)
- Butter(185)
- Ice cream(118)
- Yoghurt(45)
- Milk(26)
- Cream products(11)