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Glite Dictionary
to maintain a straight face

to maintain a straight face

6.0
To keep your face looking serious and not show you are laughing
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : mantener la seriedad
  • He tried to maintain a straight face when his friend told a ridiculous story.

Examples

  • Despite the chaos in the room, the teacher managed to maintain a straight face.

  • During the serious meeting, she struggled to maintain a straight face while her colleague told a funny story.

  • She struggled to maintain a straight face during the serious meeting after hearing the joke.

  • She tried to maintain a straight face during the serious meeting.

  • Can you maintain a straight face while telling a joke?

  • Despite the ridiculous situation, he managed to maintain a straight face and not burst into laughter.

  • At the funeral, it was hard for him to maintain a straight face when someone made a light-hearted comment.

Antonyms

to laugh
∞ 1.0

To make sounds and move your face or body because something is funny

smile
∞ 1.0

A facial expression with the mouth corners turned up to show happiness or friendliness

How Expressive

to laugh
∞ 1.0
to smile
∞ 1.0
to maintain a straight face
  • Informal
6.0

Surface Forms

maintain a straight face infinitive
maintained a straight face past
maintained a straight face past participle
maintaining a straight face present participle
maintains a straight face third person singular

Morphology

maintain + a + straight + face

The verb 'maintain' (keep) plus the noun phrase 'straight face' yields a meaning that is largely inferable as 'keep a serious/unsmiling expression', but 'straight' is being used metaphorically rather than in its primary spatial sense. A B1 learner who knows the words will often guess the general meaning, yet the conventional metaphorical use of 'straight' for 'serious' makes the relation only partially transparent rather than fully compositional. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'mantener la cara seria', 'garder un visage sérieux') increase inferability but do not eliminate the idiomatic nuance.

Etymology

Maintain a straight face comes from the image of holding your face 'straight' and still, with no smile or movement. Like a poker player who hides their feelings, this is why it means 'to keep a serious expression' even when you want to laugh.