No, J.K. Rowling wasn't comparing herself to a Teletubby (Po is the red one). Po-faced is a Briticism for "humorless":
"Speaking of her life as a famous writer, Rowling admitted to having been in denial during the unprecedented success of her first three books on the adventures of Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
'That's where my reputation for being po-faced comes from. I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights,' she said."
Link: Harry Potter may perish in last book, author hints
Posted June 28, 2006.
See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.




