to one's face

Idioms  

1. Openly, directly, as in I do not have the nerve to tell him to his face that he wasn't invited and shouldn't have come. This idiom alludes to a direct confrontation. [Mid-1500s]

---

Example Sentences

Not only are N95 masks hard to come by, but they need to be professionally fitted to one's face to ensure a tight seal.

From Salon • Jan. 27, 2021

But it is possible tend to one’s face.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2019

The unknown can be frightening, and doubly so when it’s latched directly on to one’s face.

From The Guardian • Mar. 23, 2017

People say things online they would never say to one’s face.

From Forbes • May 14, 2015

The space for a camp was somewhat cramped, and the small yellow bees that are so persistent in clinging to one's face and hands were very numerous; they will sting if irritated.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl