We don't wear our stiff upper lips on our sleeves (which is actually quite difficult to do).

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

"We tend to think Brits all have stiff upper lips, but there was a period in our recent history when it was the fashion to go to seances - really hokey, overblown performances - and people wanted to believe them, " says Hall.

BBC: Rebecca Hall turns ghost buster in The Awakening

They were people like Gordon, upper class men with stiff, and usually moustachioed, upper lips.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Magazine | What makes a modern hero?

Upper lips remain stiff, and firmly buttoned.

ECONOMIST: Struggling for the prince��s ear