What it means
A quick bit of encouragement telling someone to keep their head up and not sink into a sulk, even when everything’s gone a bit pear-shaped. It’s basically the verbal version of lifting your chin and cracking on. Can feel genuinely warm and supportive, or slightly brush-offy if it’s said with a shrug and zero follow-up.
Usage examples
"Didn’t get the job, mate. Chin up, stick the kettle on and we’ll grab a chippy tea. Their loss, that office sounded proper dead anyway."
"She failed the driving test for the third time in Sheffield and her mum rang to say chin up, the examiner was probably having a bad week and the parallel park was wonky anyway."
"Did you hear Sam got dumped at the wedding rehearsal in Brighton, oh mate, chin up, the speech he prepared was awful and he is better off without that crowd of cousins."
Editors of this term
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