From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/2013/03/130307_todays_phrase_put_on_a_brave_face.shtml
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.
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.