keep up appearances
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
keep up appearances
- (idiomatic) To pretend to be all right or that everything is going well; to maintain an appearance of wealth, comfort, or propriety.
- For my father's sake, I thought I must keep up appearances, but the food stuck in my throat, and I could not swallow another mouthful.
- With tact and management it would be possible to partially satisfy creditors, and keep up appearances for six months more.
Synonyms
- maintain appearances
- save appearances
Translations
pretend to be all right
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