straight face
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of straight face
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Yet, a majority voted to permit their production, arguing with a straight face that having “regulated peptides” was somehow better than letting people buy unvetted black-market remedies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
It now dumps Mr. Khan, once he can no longer be defended with a straight face, but otherwise carries on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
A decade later, it’s hard to believe someone wrote that with a straight face, especially as polls show that men are more eager than women to settle down and build families.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
The paper “published this piece with zero evidence. And we’re all just supposed to sit here with a straight face and take it like it is some sort of truth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
He reluctantly rolled his chest and head to sit up straight, face forward.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
