Stiff Upper Lip
Oscar Slapper
Will Smith made news today by slapping Chris Rock. I have to say it is one of the most childish things I have seen. I don’t care if Rock made a joke about your wife. You have to keep a stiff upper lip. It appears that Denzel Washington essentially said that to Smith after the incident. Washington said, “In your highest moments, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.” I find it all to be cringe. On top of all that, they gave Smith an award. I’m not sure how it makes sense for an audience member to comes up on stage during a presentation and assault the presenter only to be rewarded afterwards. Smith should have been removed from the building by security. I guess that is why some people think it was fake.
The whole thing seems like children fighting to me. Kids can’t handle their emotions. When their feeling are hurt, they strike back physically. As we grow older, we learn how to temper our emotions. We learn how to use words and not violence to solve disagreements. Will Smith is 53 years old and should know how to act like an adult. Instead, he slapped someone on stage for making a joke about his wife. On the other hand, Rock handled it very well. He kept his hands behind his back and made a joke about it. I am not sure I would have handled the situation the same way. Chris Rock showed that he has a stiff upper lip.
Meaning
Having a stiff upper lip means that you do not show your emotions when you are upset. A person with a stiff upper lip does not show their emotions when they are facing a something difficult or unpleasant. While I use the phrase have a stiff upper lip, the phrase keep a stiff upper lip may be more popular. They are synonymous. The phrase, bite your lip, can also be used in a similar way but it has other uses.
Example: Even at the funeral she kept a stiff upper lip. She had to be strong for the rest of her family.
Origin
The British are mostly associated with keeping a stiff upper lip. Not showing emotions is a part of British culture although, that may be changing. What is interesting is that the phrase was developed by Americans who would go on to use the phrase to describe the English. It first appears in print in Relfs Phildelphia Gasette, and Daily Advertiser on November 9th, 1811, “There will be much talk and little business this session – War is out of the question, but it was resolved in caucus last Sunday evening to look big and keep a stiff upper lip.” The phrase became famous in 1963 when PG Wodehouse wrote the novel, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves.
A trembling lip is a sign of nervousness, fear, or weakness. If you can keep a stiff upper lip, you are able it disguise these feelings. Well, that is the idea anyways. Hiding your emotions is a very old trait dating to at least the Romans. Helen Maria Williams noted in 1792, “You will see Frenchmen bathed in tears at a tragedy. An Englishman has quite as much sensibility to a generous or tender sentiment; but he thinks it would be unmanly to weep; and, though half choaked with emotion, he scorns to be overcome, contrives to gain the victory over his feelings, and throws into his countenance as much apathy as he can well wish.”
What do you think about the Will Smith incident? Was it ok for him to slap Chris Rock over a joke?
See Also: bite the bullet, keep your chin up,
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Resources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/will-smith-denzel-washington-oscars-2022-b2045357.html
https://www.unilad.co.uk/film-and-tv/oscars-viewers-think-they-know-if-will-smiths-slap-was-fake-20220328
https://youtu.be/Zo6s3IrVOZw
https://grammarist.com/idiom/keep-a-stiff-upper-lip/
https://wordhistories.net/2018/05/06/stiff-upper-lip/
https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/2012/10/the-history-of-the-stiff-upper-lip-part-1/