être un pince-sans-rire

The French expression “être un pince-sans-rire” translates literally to “to be a pinch without laughing”.

English meaning:

  • to have a deadpan sense of humor
  • to have dry-wit humor

French meaning:

  • pratiquer l’humour sans en avoir l’air – to practice humor without seeming to do so

Example sentence:

  • Jean a fait rire les gens sans aucune expression du visage. C’est un vrai pince-sans-rire. Jean made the people laugh without showing any facial expression. he has a real deadpan sense of humor.

Related:

  • impassible, inexpressif, figéall adjectives for deadpan

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