How to Use keep a straight face in a Sentence

keep a straight face

idiom
Definition of keep a straight facenext
  • At first, most of them at least tried to keep a straight face.
    — Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Oct. 2022
  • Keough tries to keep a straight face, then abandons her pose and laughs.
    — Kevin Conley, Town & Country, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Even host Nick Cannon couldn't keep a straight face saying that name.
    — Lauren Huff, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Still, those rather good actors do indeed keep a straight face, as does the film overall.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Oct. 2022
  • Cox is clearly struggling to keep a straight face, and the whole thing is hilarious.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 2 Sep. 2021
  • Can these celebs can keep a straight face despite whatever chaos Arnett throws their way?
    — Nina Metz, chicagotribune.com, 16 Feb. 2022
  • Who could keep a straight face pretending to be serious?
    — Dallas News, 22 July 2022
  • Kudos to Craig for cutting loose and credit to his co-stars, who managed to keep a straight face during filming.
    — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Harbaugh said, while trying his best to keep a straight face, that the Ravens will fervently search for Poe's replacement.
    — Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Goins could hardly keep a straight face when the ever-inquisitive Michael asked her about the morning routine.
    — Kyle Neddenriep, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Aug. 2022
  • Who can keep a straight face when guests are using food like musical instruments?
    — Karla Pope, Woman's Day, 4 May 2022
  • Here, the cast routinely breaks the fourth wall, as Charles instructs editor Al LeVine to pick not-quite-perfect takes in which audiences can see the actors struggling to keep a straight face.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Rudd and Fallon's capacity to keep a straight face while spinning ever-so-slowly in a circle together deserves an Oscar.
    — Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE.com, 10 Nov. 2021
  • Particularly since quality dialogue is not a strength here, the performers can do naught but try to keep a straight face, some under heavy layers of creature latex.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 12 Jan. 2023
  • One brave celebrity shows up each week without a script, trying to keep a straight face while ad libbing alongside Will Arnett’s hilariously vain homicide detective Terry Seattle.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keep a straight face.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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