Talk:Stiff upper lip

Please use good style

 * Avoid useless words. Good style is terse. Thus
 * "Author P. G. Wodehouse wrote a comic novel Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (ISBN 0743203607), which parodies this British trait."


 * "Author P. G. Wodehouse's comic novel Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, 1963, (ISBN 0743203607), parodies this British trait."

The addition of a date improves any statement. It's never too late to learn some style.

bias
I think there's some POV being pushed here that says, "the British really aren't that reserved anymore." That's ok to say as one view, but the article uses too many words to say this over and over. I am going to edit the article to trim the fat a bit MPS 16:21, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Its not the british, its just refers to the ruling class and the armies during the times of war. It was a way for the cheif red coat to inspire confidence when the war was going in dire straits, pretend everythings okay and smile, and be all happy, like lord nelson telling dirty jokes while aiming his ship at full speed into the enemy ship taking the piss out of the meaning of life. its the face of a british soldier making his body tough like Iron while walking to his grave thinking it will make him imune to the bullets. Ordinary people don't have stiff lips your tradesmen your craftsmen your miner, you smithy's, they too busy getting pissed up in the local tavern, talking with their prostitutes. George bush put on a brave face when the twin towers were falling, thats what it means its the same with all brave empires in the face of death, the british just happened to be the first empire, the leaders of the american empire to come will be mutch the same. paul


 * I don't think it's true at all that it "refers to the ruling class" rather than all Brits. Just look at the difference in public reaction to 9/11 in the US, and the London bombings in the UK. FiggyBee 12:48, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

bad wording
as the article stands it implies that the blitz was a terrorist act shouldn't this be reworded?

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Wouldn't "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" be more of a celebration of optimism? The article defines one having a "stiff upper lip" as one who "displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises self-restraint in the expression of emotion" -- perhaps one might argue that the optimism of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" "displays fortitude in the face of adversity," but it certainly seems to me to outright defy "self-restraint in the expression of emotion" (which I personally find to be the more generally apt of the two definitions) in its happy-go-lucky cheerfulness.

Perhaps this is yet another all-to-common example of an author providing undue weight to a Monty Python/Sci-Fi/Computing reference here on Wikipedia, no?

Welsh & Scottish
To say that the Welsh and Scottish did not use to consider reservation part of their "national characteristics" is wrong. Wales & Scotland up until the 1960s were mainly made up of agricultural workers & heavy industry workers and most people of that time could be said to be reticent, with those in rural parts being even moreso than the upper class English. The perception about the Welsh and Scottish being loud, etc. is a fairly recent perception and one that is more symptomatic of Britain and modern cultural characteristics as a whole. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.134.96 (talk) 19:17, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

External links modified
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Odd
"Despite strong association with the UK, there are indications that the phrase originated in the US. One of the earliest known references to the phrase was in the Massachusetts Spy, June 1815: "I kept a stiff upper lip, and bought [a] license to sell my goods." There are several more US references from early 19th century found, and by mid-century it became quite common, while the earliest British reference reported is from 1844.[1]"

It was written about in US as it was a colony of the british empire dear chaps. It is indeed british. Assuming every article i've ever seen coming (which is being crudely written around here) is actually by a british journalist or about a british person. Perhaps a rephrasing of this sentence would be better.

Despite strong association with the UK, there are early references of the phrase in other parts of the world. The United States, recorded one of the earliest known references to the phrase in the Massachusetts Spy, June 1815: "I kept a stiff upper lip, and bought [a] license to sell my goods.""

"There are several more US references from early 19th century found, and by mid-century it became quite common, while the earliest British reference reported is from 1844.[1]" Yes so USA reported it in their newspaper and wrote it down. Doesn't mean the phrase wasn't in our plays and other cultural elements before. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.173.121.221 (talk) 17:02, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

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Examples
Hello all: I added the following sentence to the list of British examples: Captain Edward Smith as he directed the evacuation of the Titanic and stoically remained with the ship as it sankDakotacoda (talk) 19:54, 20 April 2020 (UTC)