put a brave face on something






put a brave face on something = put a bold face on something = put a good face on something

act as if something unpleasant or upsetting is not as bad as it really is


RELATED IDIOMS :


the acceptable face of

The tolerable or attractive manifestation or aspect of

1996 New York Review of Books : He presents himself as the acceptable face of gambling…the man who, almost single-handedly, has turned a huckster's paradise into a gangster-free zone.




a face as long as a fiddle

a dismal face




face the music

be confronted with the unpleasant consequences of your actions




get out of his face

stop harassing or annoying someone - North American informal




have the brass face to

have the effrontery to do something – dated




in your face

aggressively obvious

assertive – informal

1996 - Sunday Telegraph - The campaign reflects a growing trend of aggressive and in your face advertisement that is alarming many within the industry.




lose face

suffer a loss of respect

be humiliated

This expression was originally associated with China and was a translation of the Chinese idiom tiu lien.




make faces = pull faces

produce an expression on your face that shows dislike, disgust or some other negative emotion or that is intended to be amusing.




not just a pretty face

intelligent as well as attractive




off your face

very drunk or under the influence of illegal drugs – informal

1998 - Times Magazine - I've been accused of being off my face many times but you just go, by osmosis, with the people that you're with.




save face

retain respect

avoid humiliation

1994 - Thomas Boswell - Cracking Show - And Rose got to save face, at least in his own eyes, with one last brassy news conference.




save his face

enable someone to avoid humiliation




set your face against

oppose or resist with determination




his face fits

someone has the necessary qualities for something

1992 - Looks - My face fits and I've got the job!




throw something back in his face

reject something in




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