stiff

Stiff means hard to bend. New leather shoes are stiff, a stiff collar stands up on its own, and a neck you slept badly on is stiff and sore every time you turn your head.

Bodies go stiff two ways: muscles after a long walk, joints in cold weather. A person can be stiff as well — polite but not relaxed, with a stiff smile and a stiff handshake. A stiff drink is a strong one, a stiff breeze is a hard one, and stiff competition is the kind that leaves you no easy way through. English also uses it as an adverb inside a small fixed set: bored stiff, scared stiff, frozen stiff. Watch the noun, though — a stiff is slang for a dead body, so 'he is a stiff' says something very different from 'he is stiff'.

Phrases it lives in

• bored stiff — so bored you can hardly sit still
• scared stiff — so frightened that you cannot move
• keep a stiff upper lip — hide your feelings and carry on