What it means
A quick little boost you throw someone when they're feeling battered and starting to droop. It means keep your head up, don't wallow, keep it moving. Usually it's warm and supportive, but if someone says it then offers nothing else, it can land a bit dismissive.
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."
"Lost your place and binned the whole presentation, yeah it was rough, but chin up, nobody's thinking about it as much as you are."
"I know your flat hunt in Dublin's been absolute carnage, but chin up, we'll keep scrolling and sort you out before the weekend."
Where it comes from
It comes from the literal idea of lifting your chin instead of letting your head hang when you're upset or defeated. That bit of body language turned into a spoken pep phrase in English a long time ago, and by the late 1800s and early 1900s you can already spot chin up used plainly as encouragement.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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