stiff upper lip

English

Etymology

Of American origin; the earliest known use is in 1811.[1]

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

stiff upper lip (plural stiff upper lips)

1. (idiomatic) The quality of being resolute and showing self-restraint, stereotypically associated with the British; especially as keep a stiff upper lip.
   • 1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, page 130:

     I thought now the jig was mighty nigh up with me, but I determined to keep a stiff upper lip.

   • 1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter VI, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, pages 71–72:

     A man may go pretty near through his whole sea-life without any call to show a stiff upper lip.

     1959, “Stiff Upper Lip”, in Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook‎^[2], performed by Ella Fitzgerald:

     Stiff upper lip, stout fella. Carry on, old fluff. Chin up, keep muddling through. Stiff upper lip, stout fella, when the going’s rough. Pip pip to old man trouble and a toodle-oo too.[…] Stiff upper lip, stout fella, when you’re in the stew. Sober or blotto, this is your motto. Keep muddling through.

   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “II AND XV”, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

     [...] Jeeves came in, bowler hat in hand, to say goodbye. A solemn moment, taxing our self-control to the utmost. However, we both kept the upper lip stiff, and after we had kidded back and forth for a while he started to withdraw. [...] He poked his head round the tree as I arrived, and when I waved a cheery hand at him, waved a fairly cheery hand at me. Though I only caught a glimpse of him, I could see that his upper lip was stiff.

   • 2005, Ben Wright, Michael Patrick Shiels, Good Bounces and Bad Lies, page 39:

     In typical British stiff upper lip fashion, the tournament organizers expected us to play into, and through, the menacing weather.

Derived terms

• stiff-upper-lipped

See also

• mustn't grumble (UK, humorous)