game face
n.— «He slumped in his chair, rested his head on the palm of his extended arm, and glared at the 20 or so mostly black male job seekers who gathered on a recent Monday, the first day of a four-week job-readiness training program.…The men were talking about “game face,” slang for the menacing expression worn by many African-American and Hispanic men who live in inner cities. But many men who wear their game faces on the streets also wear them on interviews and at work.» —“Sometimes the Right Approach Is Putting the Best Face Forward” by Tanya Mohn New York Times May 7, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
If someone tells you it’s flisky or flobby outside, do you need to take an umbrella? A new book about England’s soggy climate includes 188 terms for rainy weather. Americans have their own joking names for local weather, from June Gloom in Southern...
If you’re ever near a sundial, step closer and look for a message. Many sundials bear haunting, poetic inscriptions about the brevity of life. Plus, language development in toddlers: why and how little ones pick up the exclamation Uh-oh! And a new...