face idioms list
Let’s look at some popular body idioms that contain the word ‘face’.
- cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face
meaning – perform a vengeful act that hurts oneself more than another person
example – Lisa stopped me seeing the kids, she cut off her nose to spite her face. Now she has no free time to spend with her new boyfriend. - face like a bulldog chewing a wasp
meaning – a very ugly face
example – Harley’s new girlfriend looks like a bulldog chewing a wasp. - face like a wet weekend
meaning – look miserable
example – What’s wrong with you? You’ve had a face like a wet weekend all day. - face like thunder
meaning – a very angry/hostile facial expression
example – Lara has had a face like thunder all week. Do you know what is bothering her? - face the music
meaning – deal with the consequences of your actions
example – The president has been arrested for stealing public money. Today, he faces the music. - face up to something
meaning – accept something unpleasant
example – She has to face up to the fact that he’s not coming back. - face value
meaning – the value indicated or accept what someone says without questioning
example – Don’t take what Eric says at face value, he lies a lot. - have a face like the back end of a bus
meaning – ugly
example – Her baby has a face like the back end of a bus. - have egg on one’s face
meaning – look stupid or be embarrassed/humiliated
example – If you accuse him and he is innocent, you’ll end up with egg on your face. - on the face of it
meaning – on the surface, how something seems
example – It looked like a good deal on the face of it, but he was overcharging. - put on a brave face
meaning – pretend you’re not upset, afraid, in pain etc. when you really are
example – Carlos is putting on a brave face, but I know he is still upset about losing Katie. - save face
meaning – avoid humiliation by covering up your mistake
example – There is no way the goalie can save face; he’s let in 9 goals in 2 matches. - show one’s face
meaning – attend an event/make an appearance
example – This is the first time Walker has shown his face this season, what an appearance it was. - stuff one’s face
meaning – eat lots very quickly
example – You stuffed your face all weekend. You need to hit the gym hard this week. - two-faced
meaning – a person who is nice to someone’s face but horrible behind their back
example – I’m not two-faced so I won’t say anything bad about her. - until one’s blue in the face
meaning – angry, irritated, frustrated, exhausted
example – I complained to the council until I was blue in the face, but they still didn’t sort the problem.
face idioms list with pictures
Here’s some real life picture examples.
You can download a table of ‘face’ idioms and expressions below.
If you’ve enjoyed this page, don’t forget to check out some more body idioms by clicking on the links below.
