stand tall

present singular third person stands tall · participle present standing tall · participle past stood tall · past stood tall

1. idiomaticTo behave in a brave, proud, or unyielding manner, without retreating from confrontation, danger, or adversity.

   "I'll not sing one note!" she declared, standing tall, "not one single note!"

   1892, Margaret Sidney, chapter 9, in Five Little Peppers Grown Up

   3 more examples

   But there was beauty in her, and an inner strength that would allow her to stand tall and accept last night's phone call.

   1986, Fern Michaels, Texas Heat, →ISBN, page 300

   The economic expansion that enabled the country to stand tall at the start of the century has slowed.

   2002 March 18, Jonathan Fenby, “New elections, Same old Faces”, in TIME, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2010

   Leeds were once more indebted to the exceptional Schmeichel for keeping them in it when he stood tall to parry away Alex Song's near-post drive only 23 seconds into the second half, before Robert Snodgrass produced a goal-saving tackle just as Arshavin was about to pull the trigger.

   2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 19 Mar 2011

   Synonyms: walk tall