put on a brave face
Meaning: To look cheerful or confident while feeling otherwise.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “She put on a brave face at the farewell party.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The face is the mask one shows the world. The phrase is common from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: robić dobrą minę do złej gry — literally: to make a good face at a bad game
More idioms — Body & Senses
- throw up one's hands — To show that one gives up, in despair or frustration.
- lose one's head — To stop thinking clearly because of panic, anger or passion.
- lose face — To lose respect or be humiliated in public.
- shoulder the burden — To take on a heavy responsibility.
- give one's eyeteeth for something — To want something very badly.
- blush to the roots of one's hair — To go very red with embarrassment.
More English idioms
- make someone's life hell — To make someone very unhappy for a long time.
- sweep something under the rug — To hide a problem instead of dealing with it.
- push up daisies — To be dead and buried.
- manna from heaven — Something good that arrives unexpectedly just when it is needed.
- play for time — To delay deliberately in the hope of improving one's position.
- even Homer nods — Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.