Definition of "keep up appearances" []

• To pretend to be all right or that everything is going well. (verb)

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• "Anxious to keep up appearances and for the servants not to hear anything."
• "Not only would my cover be blown if I didn’t keep up appearances of a Firth-worthy scholar, but I’d be seriously behind in my actual classes when I got home."
• "Occasionally he stuffed something into his battered canvas hold-all to keep up appearances for the odd few holidaymakers who watched him curiously from time to time."