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.
- 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
oxygen battery
The oxygen battery is a bio-implantable device that can be placed inside a person's blood vessel so it continuously releases oxygen into the blood ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
indigo74
0
Terms
8
Blossaries
1
Followers
Cosmetic Bag , fashion bags and womens Accessories
Browers Terms By Category
- Biochemistry(4818)
- Genetic engineering(2618)
- Biomedical(4)
- Green biotechnology(4)
- Blue biotechnology(1)
Biotechnology(7445) Terms
- General law(5868)
- Contracts(640)
- Patent & trademark(449)
- Legal(214)
- US law(77)
- European law(75)
Law(7373) Terms
- Aeronautics(5992)
- Air traffic control(1257)
- Airport(1242)
- Aircraft(949)
- Aircraft maintenance(888)
- Powerplant(616)
Aviation(12294) Terms
- Home theatre system(386)
- Television(289)
- Amplifier(190)
- Digital camera(164)
- Digital photo frame(27)
- Radio(7)
Consumer electronics(1079) Terms
- Hair salons(194)
- Laundry facilities(15)
- Vetinary care(12)
- Death care products(3)
- Gyms(1)
- Portrait photography(1)