Dictionary

stiff-upper-lippy en · ADJ

Etymology

From stiff upper lip + -y.

Meanings

1. (informal, uncommon) Having, resembling, or characteristic of a stiff upper lip; stoic.
   • I’m trying to be stiff-upper-lippy. 2001 October 2, Marti Noxon, “Bargaining”, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 6, episode 1, spoken by Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), Los Angeles, Calif.: UPN:
   • Character development? These people are, for the most part, unchanged — they’re The Walking Living. Sheriff Rick [Grimes] is still stiff-upper-lippy unless a member of his family is in danger (more about that later). 2011 October 16, Ken Tucker, “'The Walking Dead' season premiere review: Zombie repetition”, in Entertainment Weekly, New York, N.Y., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2021:
   • “Keep calm and carry on,” a British government propaganda poster created in 1939, is now decorating offices. […] “It looks quiet and nice and sort of stiff-upper-lippy,” Mr. [David] Lubars said. 2009 November 22, Stephanie Clifford, “Calming Sign of Troubled Past Appears in Modern Offices”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Apr 2012:

Forms