A stiff upper lip

[Bassim]

Have I made any mistakes? Could "a stiff upper lip" be used in my sentence?

At the celebration in honour of the old professor, he tried to maintain a stiff upper lip, but as soon as his former students and colleagues went up to the rostrum to share their memories and experiences of working him, he got tears in his eyes.

 

[jutfrank]

It's fine except for the phrase stiff upper lip, which is not correct.

 

[Bassim]

I believe that "stiff upper lip" is not suitable for the above sentence, because the situation is not upsetting or difficult.
But would "he tried to keep a poker face" be OK?

 

[Tarheel]

Have I made any mistakes? Could "a stiff upper lip" be used in my sentence?

At the celebration in honour of the old professor, he tried to maintain a stiff upper lip, but as soon as his former students and colleagues went up to the rostrum to share their memories and experiences of working with him, he got tears in his eyes.

The British members of the forum can comment on that one.

 

[jutfrank]

would "he tried to keep a poker face" be OK?

No, that's not right, either. What you mean is that he tried to 'hold back his emotions' or 'fight back the tears'.

Neither of the two idioms you've considered are appropriate. You might want to consult some dictionaries to check how they are used.

 

[Tdol]

How about to honour him, the old professor?