stiff

To be very stiff; to be rigid and/or difficult to bend. The dry cleaner really starched this shirt—it's as stiff as a board! After being on a plane for eight hours, I'm stiff as a board.

To have very erect posture. I've never seen Olivia slouch—she's always as stiff as a ramrod.

To be extremely bored. My flight's been delayed, and I'm bored to death after sitting around the airport all day.

The ability to remain stoic during difficult situations. Despite all of the hardships he faced, John always kept a stiff upper lip and didn't let anything bother him. The players were devastated after losing the championship, but their coach encouraged them to keep a stiff upper lip and focus on doing better next year.

Fig. to be exceedingly dull and uninteresting. (Stiff means "dead.") The play bored me stiff. The lecture bored everyone to death.

very bored; extremely dull and uninteresting (Usually an exaggeration.) I was bored silly at the lecture. The dull speaker left me bored to distraction. I am bored to tears. Let's go home.

Prov. Act as though you are not upset.; Do not let unpleasant things upset you. (English people are stereotypically supposed to be very good at keeping a stiff upper lip.) Even though he was only three years old, Jonathan kept a stiff upper lip the whole time he was in the hospital recovering from his surgery. Jill: Sometimes this job frustrates me so much I could just break down in tears. Jane: Keep a stiff upper lip. Things are bound to improve.

Fig. to frighten someone severely. (Stiff = dead.) That loud noise scared me stiff. The robber jumped out and scared us stiff.

Fig. badly frightened. We were scared stiff by the robber. I was scared stiff when the dog growled at me.

rigid and inflexible; stiff and awkward. (Usually used to describe people. *Also: as ~.) This guy's dead. He's cold and as stiff as a poker. John is not a very good dancer; he's stiff as a poker.

Fig. someone who works, especially in a nonmanagement position. (Originally and typically referring to males.) But does the working stiff really care about all this economic stuff? All the working stiffs want is a raise.

to make someone lose interest completely Herman was bored to death by the stories Arlie told.

extremely frightened Jill awoke from a dream that left her afraid - scared stiff, in fact.

to be very bored The speeches went on for an hour. I was bored to death.

something that you say to or about someone to whom something bad has happened in order to show that you have no sympathy for them It's about time Richard realized that he can't have everything his own way - tough cheddar, that's what I say!

something that you say to or about someone to whom something bad has happened in order to show that you have no sympathy for them So he's fed up because he's got to get up early one morning in seven, is he? Well hard cheese!

if someone is as stiff as a ramrod, they stand or sit with their back very straight and stiff At eighty-three, he's still as straight as a ramrod.

an ability to stay calm and not show feelings of sadness or fear You weren't allowed to show emotion in those days. You had to keep a stiff upper lip at all times. I never once saw my father cry or show any sign of vulnerability - it's that old British stiff upper lip.

Also, bore to tears or bore stiff or bore the pants off. Weary someone through extremely dull talk or uninteresting action. For example, Sam was bored stiff by the opera but didn't dare to admit it, or Carol bores the pants off me with her constant talk of remodeling, or His books bore me to death. All four expression convey the idea of such exasperation that one dies, weeps, stiffens with annoyance, or has one's trousers removed. The verb bore has been used in this sense only since about 1750, and its etymology is unknown. The amplifications were added between about 1850 and 1950. Also see under pants off; talk one's arm off.

Show courage in the face of pain or adversity. For example, I know you're upset about losing the game, but keep a stiff upper lip. This expression presumably alludes to the trembling lips that precede bursting into tears. [Early 1800s]

Also, frighten out of one's wits; scare stiff or silly or to death or the living daylights out of or the pants off . Terrify, make one panic, as in When the lights went out, she was scared out of her wits, or I was scared stiff that I would fail the driver's test. The first of these hyperbolic terms, scare out of one's wits, is the oldest and, like silly, suggests one is frightened enough to lose one's mind. The verb scare dates from about 1200, and out of one's wits was first recorded in William Tyndale's translation of the Bible in 1526 (I Corinthians 14:23): "Will they not say that ye are out of your wits?" They were first put together in 1697, the same period from which came scare out of one's seven senses, a usage now obsolete. The variant using daylights, which sometimes occurs without living, dates from the 1950s. Daylights at one time referred to the eyes but here means "vital organs." Frighten to death was first recorded in Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (1840) and scare to death probably appeared about the same time. However, to death used as an intensifier dates from the 1500s. These terms allude to the fact that a sudden fright can precipitate cardiac arrest. Scare stiff, first recorded in 1905, alludes to the temporary paralysis that can accompany intense fear. For the last variant, see also under pants off.

Also, stiff as a poker. Inflexible, rigidly formal, unbending, as in This cloth is stiff as a board; what happened to it? or There he stood, stiff as a poker, unwilling to give an inch. The board in the first simile for rigidity is a slab of wood; the second, alluding to the iron implement used to push around logs in open fires, dates from the late 1700s.

To be courageous or stoic in the face of adversity.

A hardworking employee. First heard in the 1930s, this phrase describes your average guy or gal who works at a not-very-interesting- or-stimulating job and for wages that mean a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. “Stiff ” might have come from muscle fatigues at the end of the day or week, but it's just as likely to be the slang word for “corpse,” which would reflect the idea of a working stiff in a dead-end job.