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keep a straight face

Idioms

Don't show one's feelings, especially refrain from laughing. For example, The school orchestra played so many wrong notes that I had trouble keeping a straight face. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is so obviously a market mania that I honestly don’t know how anyone on the Street of Shame can say otherwise and keep a straight face.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025

“Close Encounter”: Kate McKinnon was so hilarious describing her experience with the aliens that Ryan Gosling and the rest of the cast couldn’t keep a straight face.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2024

Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, another freshman Democrat who sits beside Crockett in the Oversight Committee, said he often struggles to keep a straight face during Crockett’s speeches.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2024

The last one to keep a straight face wins.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024

I try to keep a straight face, but I burst out laughing.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023