- Stiff upper lip
One who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises self-restraint in the expression of
emotion . The phrase is most commonly heard as part of theidiom "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 reserved; the idiom is however of American origin. The earliest known example is in a publication called the "Massachusetts Spy" for 14 June 1815: "I kept a stiff upper lip, and bought [a] license to sell my goods." [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sti3.htm]English author
P. G. Wodehouse 's comic novel "Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves " (1963) parodies this trait, and theEric Idle song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life " is often seen as a humorous but genuine celebration of it.External links
* [http://www.sterlingtimes.org/memorable_images61.htm The British Stiff Upper Lip] at [http://www.sterlingtimes.co.uk Sterlingtimes Virtual Scrapbook of British Nostalgia]
* [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/poetry/juleps/stifflip.html Keep A Stiff Upper Lip] poem by J.M. Cavaness
* [http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/stiff+upper+lip.html UsingEnglish.com]
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