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Apr 21, 2020 03:24
4 yrs ago
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English term
To keep a stiff upper lip
English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I would like to get a general feel for the usage of the idiom "to keep a stiff upper lip" in the United States. I don't want to ask any leading questions. Therefore, I am not providing further context. For those of you living in the U.S. or having had exposure otherwise, I would just like to ask that you give an opinion. Feel free to provide examples and/or measured conjecture, etc. It's basically an opinion poll among linguists (not sure you can earn Kudoz points on THAT). Again, this is about U.S. usage only. What has been your experience? Thanks for helping!
Change log
Apr 21, 2020 04:01: Murad AWAD changed "Language pair" from "German to English" to "English" , "Field" from "Other" to "Art/Literary" , "Field (write-in)" from "The usage of \"to keep a stiff upper lip\" in the U.S." to "(none)"
Responses
-2
40 mins
hang in
I would say in your context
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Note added at 42 mins (2020-04-21 04:07:34 GMT)
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the way I read it is that we have to keep going and get through a difficult situation without dispairing
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Note added at 46 mins (2020-04-21 04:11:35 GMT)
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the UK interpretation is slightly different but boils down to the same thing:
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 in remaining resolute and unemotional when faced with adversity.
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Note added at 50 mins (2020-04-21 04:15:37 GMT)
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I lived in the US for 6 years and am quite familiar with the subtle differences between our separate usage of a common language but would like to hear if native US-American speakers are ok with "hang in" in this particular context...
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Note added at 42 mins (2020-04-21 04:07:34 GMT)
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the way I read it is that we have to keep going and get through a difficult situation without dispairing
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Note added at 46 mins (2020-04-21 04:11:35 GMT)
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the UK interpretation is slightly different but boils down to the same thing:
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 in remaining resolute and unemotional when faced with adversity.
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Note added at 50 mins (2020-04-21 04:15:37 GMT)
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I lived in the US for 6 years and am quite familiar with the subtle differences between our separate usage of a common language but would like to hear if native US-American speakers are ok with "hang in" in this particular context...
Note from asker:
Thank you for your input David. I tend to agree with you in that I rarely ever hear the idiom used by Americans except in reference to British people. And I wanted to see what other linguists think. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
JaneTranslates
: I'm fine with "hang in" (I usually hear "hang in there"). I don't think I've ever heard a speaker of US English say anything about a "stiff upper lip" except with humorous intent, i.e., to imitate/mock/shout out to UK English.
2 hrs
|
thanks Jane
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disagree |
Ramey Rieger (X)
: Actually, it's hang in THERE. Simply hang in is not U.S. English.
2 hrs
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hi Ramey and I know the standard expression is "hang in there" but "hang in" would be perfectly understood in the US
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disagree |
AllegroTrans
: = to persevere; this is not the meaning of showing a stiff upper lip
5 hrs
|
Hi Chris and see my explanation which says just that :)
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disagree |
Patrick Hubenthal
: I’ve heard “hang in” w/o the “there” in the US. But like AllegroTrans says (& Ramey in her discussion entry), it’s not the same as a stiff upper lip. It’s fine to show emotion when you’re “hanging in there”; the important thing is just not to give up.
7 hrs
|
hi Patrick and see my explanation
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+8
3 hrs
don't show your emotions
Similar to 'poker-face' or 'never let them see you sweat'. a trembling lip is a sign of fear or weakness.
Note from asker:
Thank you for your post, Lydia. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Ramey Rieger (X)
: Yes.
17 mins
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Tony M
: This is certainly the normal meaning in EN-GB — and I honestly can't think I've ever heard it used in EN-US, except, as David says, as a usually jocular reference to Brits in some way.
18 mins
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Mark Nathan
: This is what James Bond does even when he is about to be cut in half by a laser beam.
3 hrs
|
shaken, not stirred... thanks!
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agree |
adel almergawy
4 hrs
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Patrick Hubenthal
5 hrs
|
Thank you.
|
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agree |
AllegroTrans
: i.e. the "weaker" ones
5 hrs
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
5 hrs
|
Thank you.
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agree |
Thayenga
: Exactly. :)
7 hrs
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Thank you. Saludos.
|
-2
6 hrs
don't be a pansey/don't be a girl's blouse
Think I have heard these expressions in this context
Note from asker:
Thank you for your post, although I don't think I have ever heard an American say "don't be a girl's blouse." |
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Tony M
: I think both of those are very GB and very dated, I doubt they are specifically applicable to the US; I also think it is not quite the same idiom.
3 mins
|
OK
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disagree |
Susan Welsh
: Not AE at all
1 hr
|
fair enough
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disagree |
Victoria Monk
: Not at all.
9 hrs
|
thanks
|
9 hrs
(buckle down and) grit your teeth
Even though this idiom may have originated in the US, it's not widely used here, but to the extent that it is, it's probably used by people with higher than average education levels. For those that use it, it may also tie in with stereotypes about 'the British' or subsets of the British people with connotations about class and British resilience in the face of adversity (the Blitz).
But all of the above is something that can be looked up and researched - there's no need to rely on our contributions to arrive at conclusions about what this idiom 'means' to Americans. Hence, the far more interesting question would be: what is a more typically American idiom for 'keeping a stiff upper lip'?
Buckle/hunker/bite down and grit your teeth
Compare with this:
"Consumers Keep a Stiff Upper Lip"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-07-24/consumers...
"As consumers grit their teeth with every trip to the pump, the high prices are even harder to swallow when oil companies report record profits." https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/158112/
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Note added at 9 hrs (2020-04-21 13:01:49 GMT)
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https://wordhistories.net/2018/05/06/stiff-upper-lip/
But all of the above is something that can be looked up and researched - there's no need to rely on our contributions to arrive at conclusions about what this idiom 'means' to Americans. Hence, the far more interesting question would be: what is a more typically American idiom for 'keeping a stiff upper lip'?
Buckle/hunker/bite down and grit your teeth
Compare with this:
"Consumers Keep a Stiff Upper Lip"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-07-24/consumers...
"As consumers grit their teeth with every trip to the pump, the high prices are even harder to swallow when oil companies report record profits." https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/158112/
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Note added at 9 hrs (2020-04-21 13:01:49 GMT)
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https://wordhistories.net/2018/05/06/stiff-upper-lip/
Note from asker:
Thank you for your thoughtful post and references. I was more or less interested in seeing how common the use of the idiom is in the U.S. (and if it is used only in reference to British people). I personally don't use the idiom. I would be much more likely to say something like "Keep your chin up." |
10 hrs
Show courage in the face of pain or adversity
Do not give way to adversity; appear to be resolute and stoical without showing your true feelings. This term comes from America in the early 1800s and presumably refers to a trembling lip, which betrays that one is about to burst into tears. The expression actually does not make much sense, since it is usually the lower lip that trembles before weeping, but certainly any tremor of the upper lip would be particularly obvious in a man wearing a mustache, in the ubiquitous fashion of the 1830s.
Example sentence:
I know you're upset about losing the game, but keep a stiff upper lip.
Note from asker:
Thank you for your post, Danilo. |
Reference comments
7 hrs
Reference:
Reference: US/UK -no difference in meaning
Reference information:
Meaning of stiff upper lip in English
stiff upper lip
noun [ C usually singular ]
US /ˌstɪf ˌʌp.ɚ ˈlɪp/ UK /ˌstɪf ˌʌp.ə ˈlɪp/
Someone who has a stiff upper lip does not show their feelings when they are upset:
He was taught to keep a stiff upper lip, whatever happens.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/stiff...
Definition of stiff upper lip
: a steady and determined attitude or manner in the face of trouble
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stiff upper lip
stiff upper lip DEFINITIONS AND SYNONYMS
NOUN
SINGULAR
US
DEFINITIONS
1
a quality of remaining calm and not letting other people see what you are really feeling in a difficult or unpleasant situation
Through all these tragedies he kept a stiff upper lip.
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/s...
etc.
Meaning of stiff upper lip in English
stiff upper lip
noun [ C usually singular ]
US /ˌstɪf ˌʌp.ɚ ˈlɪp/ UK /ˌstɪf ˌʌp.ə ˈlɪp/
Someone who has a stiff upper lip does not show their feelings when they are upset:
He was taught to keep a stiff upper lip, whatever happens.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/stiff...
Definition of stiff upper lip
: a steady and determined attitude or manner in the face of trouble
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stiff upper lip
stiff upper lip DEFINITIONS AND SYNONYMS
NOUN
SINGULAR
US
DEFINITIONS
1
a quality of remaining calm and not letting other people see what you are really feeling in a difficult or unpleasant situation
Through all these tragedies he kept a stiff upper lip.
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/s...
etc.
Note from asker:
Thank you for providing all these references. However, my main goal was less about dictionary entries, but rather to see if other linguists would agree with me in that the idiom is rarely used in the U.S. and, if so, mainly in reference to British people. |
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree |
Tony M
12 mins
|
agree |
Mark Nathan
44 mins
|
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: definition a good way to go
54 mins
|
agree |
Rachel Fell
4 hrs
|
agree |
Bernhard Sulzer
7 hrs
|
Discussion
https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/2019/01/16/stiff-upper-lip
It tells you a bit more about when the phrase started being thought of as British.
Best
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9sVUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA193
Most sources (including Eric Partridge and Merriam-Webster) say it first appeared in 1815, but I can push that back four years to 1811, in the Philadelphia Gazette:
"But it was determined in caucus last Sunday evening to look big, and keep a stiff upper lip"
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uiZHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA222