Meanings
comparative more po-faced · superlative most po-faced
- UKWearing a particularly stern and disapproving expression; humourless; priggish.First known use 1930s
I mean, you would never guess if you came up from the South to Edinburgh in August that it is such a po-faced, humourless place, now would you?
2007 August 16, Kelvin Holdsworth, “Edinburgh?”, in Thurible.net1 more example
Nae hassle man . . . I'll git oaf the skag, and Saughton's barry fir hash. It'll be a piece ay pish likesay . . . he sais, as he's escorted away by a po–faced labdick.
1993, Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, Times Film School, page 68 - UKPoker-faced.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehumorless and disapproving
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchpot de chambre“chamber pot”
- Englishpo-faced
Uncertain, probably from po, abbreviated slang based on French pot de chambre (“chamber pot”), after the distasteful expression anyone would adopt upon being presented with a full one. Perhaps similarly from pooh; perhaps influenced by poker-faced. Also possibly “poor-faced”.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German streng, grimmig
- strengwearing a particularly stern and disapproving expression
- grimmigwearing a particularly stern and disapproving expression
- mürrischwearing a particularly stern and disapproving expression
Polish z kwaśną miną
- z kwaśną minąwearing a particularly stern and disapproving expression
Cite this entry
po-faced. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/po-faced
“po-faced.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/po-faced. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “po-faced,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/po-faced.
Source: po-faced on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.