keep a stiff upper lip, to

To remain stoic during difficult situations. Despite all of the hardships he faced, John always kept a stiff upper lip and didn't let anything bother him. The players were devastated after losing the championship, but their coach encouraged them to keep a stiff upper lip and focus on doing better next year.

Prov. Act as though you are not upset.; Do not let unpleasant things upset you. (English people are stereotypically supposed to be very good at keeping a stiff upper lip.) Even though he was only three years old, Jonathan kept a stiff upper lip the whole time he was in the hospital recovering from his surgery. Jill: Sometimes this job frustrates me so much I could just break down in tears. Jane: Keep a stiff upper lip. Things are bound to improve.

Show courage in the face of pain or adversity. For example, I know you're upset about losing the game, but keep a stiff upper lip. This expression presumably alludes to the trembling lips that precede bursting into tears. [Early 1800s]

To be courageous or stoic in the face of 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. “What’s the use of boohooin’? . . . keep a stiff upper lip,” appeared in John Neal’s The Down-Easters (1833), and the expression soon crossed the Atlantic.