Avoid humiliation or embarrassment, preserve dignity, as in Rather than fire him outright, they let him save face by accepting his resignation. The phrase, which uses face in the sense of "outward appearances," is modeled on the antonym lose face. [Late 1800s]
save face
| Idioms: save face |
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 | save (Idiom) |
| lose face (Idiom) |
| The Covered Trailer (1939 Comedy Film) |
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 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- save (Idiom)
- lose face (Idiom)
- The Covered Trailer (1939 Comedy Film)
- Lucky Jade (1937 Crime Film)
- Hordubal (1980 Film)
- The Clubmen: The Andy Griffith Show (TV Episode) (1961 Comedy TV Episode)
- Eb Returns: Green Acres (TV Episode) (1967 TV Episode)
- Pet Fair: Leave It to Beaver (TV Episode) (1960 Comedy TV Episode)
- Macho, Macho Mel: Alice (TV Episode) (1981 Comedy TV Episode)
- Santa's Little Helper: Boy Meets World (TV Episode) (1993 Comedy TV Episode)
- Mercenary Fighters (1988 Adventure Film)
- Giorni d'amore (1954 Comedy Film)
- U ime naroda (1987 Film)
- Rakoczi Indulo (1936 Film)
