to one's face



to one's face

Openly, directly, as in I do not have the nerve to tell him to his face that he wasn't invited and shouldn't have come . This idiom alludes to a direct confrontation. [Mid-1500s]
See also: face

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
EmeseEM-esh-eHungarian
Idelleie-DELEnglish (Rare)
AstraAS-trəEnglish (Rare)
Oroitz-Basque
Marjo (1)MAHR-yoFinnish, Dutch
Cateline-Medieval French