straight face
a serious or impassive facial expression that conceals one's true feelings about something, especially a desire to laugh.
Origin of straight face
1Other words from straight face
- straight-faced, adjective
- straight-fac·ed·ly [streyt-fey-sid-lee, -feyst-lee], /ˈstreɪtˈfeɪ sɪd li, -ˈfeɪst li/, adverb
Words Nearby straight face
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use straight face in a sentence
Though I sometimes miss the verisimilitude of the early films, there’s something goofily enthralling about the fact that these movies can now feature Vin Diesel taking on a literal submarine and mostly pull that idea off with a straight face.
The rise and rise and rise of the Fast & Furious franchise | Emily VanDerWerff | June 25, 2021 | VoxThere are some movie titles you can’t say with a straight face, and Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse is one of them.
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse Unapologetically Kicks Off a Bland New Franchise | Stephanie Zacharek | April 29, 2021 | Time“That’s so obviously not going to happen it’s a wonder we could include it with a straight face,” Meyers said.
After a Violent Crime, Arizona Promised Reforms for People With Developmental Disabilities. It Has Yet to Deliver. | by Amy Silverman for Arizona Daily Star | December 28, 2020 | ProPublicaAmazing how people can still haul this one out with a straight face.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game | Michael Tomasky | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHis commitment to keeping a straight face is more impressive than his dancing.
Vegas Kid Busts a Move Behind TV News Reporter | Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video | October 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
At one point Imagine Dragons and Lorde were invoked as examples of “a pretty good year for rock,” with a straight face.
Butts, ‘Bang Bang’ & Beyoncé: The Craziest MTV Video Music Awards Moments | Kevin Fallon | August 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen you worked with him, your job was to keep a straight face.
How Mork Melted the Fonz: Henry Winkler Recalls Robin Williams’s Storming ‘Happy Days’ Debut | Tim Teeman | August 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven Loaded Lux could not keep a straight face, smiling as his competitor established a clear, early lead and never let up.
"If you can keep a straight face and deny everything, we will have a few minutes of fun with Dick," said Garry with a wink.
The Ranger Boys and the Border Smugglers | Claude A. LabelleAlthough it nearly killed them to do it, the others maintained a straight face and listened with interest.
The Ranger Boys and the Border Smugglers | Claude A. LabelleBut if we can hardly look a crab in the eye and keep a straight face, what would we do if we met a duck-billed mole?
The Adventures of a Grain of Dust | Hallam Hawksworth"To whom, is what you mean, little man," Dawson said with a straight face.
Dave Dawson at Truk | Robert Sydney BowenWith the aid of his monocle, von Schlichten managed to keep a straight face.
Uller Uprising | Henry Beam Piper, John D. Clark and John F. Carr
British Dictionary definitions for straight face
a serious facial expression, esp one that conceals the impulse to laugh
Derived forms of straight face
- straight-faced, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with straight face
see keep a straight face.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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