The phrase is most commonly heard as part of the idiom keep a stiff upper lip, and has traditionally been used to describe an attribute of British people, who are sometimes perceived by other cultures as being reserved; the idiom is however of American origin.

The earliest known example is in a publication called the "Massachusetts Spy" for 14 June 1815: "I kept a stiff upper lip, and bought [a] license to sell my goods."

English author P. G. Wodehouse's comic novel Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (1963) parodies this trait, and the Eric Idle song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is often seen as a humorous but genuine celebration of it.