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Last updated at 14:12 GMT, Thursday, 07 March 2013

Put on a brave face

A student taking part in a parade for the Caracol festival in the Philippines

Nature-inspired costumes are always popular with children in a parade for the Caracol festival in Makati city in the Philippines. Photo: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

Today's Phrase

If you 'put on a brave face' it means you are trying to make people think that you are happy when in fact you are not.

Examples:

Mary didn't get the promotion she was expecting. But she put on a brave face and went to the office party.

The athletes put on a brave face when they left the stadium, where the team had suffered its worst defeat in ten years.

Take note

The expression 'two-faced' is used to describe people who say pleasant things about someone when he/she is around - and bad things about the person when they are not there.

Example:

Frederick is two-faced. He keeps telling me he loves my work, while he says to my colleagues that he thinks I should be sacked.

Interesting fact

The Philippines - a Spanish colony for more than three centuries and named after a 16th Century Spanish king - was taken over by the US in the early 20th Century. Spanish and American influences remain strong, especially in terms of language, religion and government.

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