Once interpreted in this way, it seemed to fit the English like a glove. It expressed the attitude drummed into boys at public schools, where surviving the endless beating, bullying and ball-games made them fit to go on and run the Empire. It saw us through to battlefield victories against overwhelming odds, to extremes of endurance in the Antarctic, and even to putting a brave collective face on scoring nul points at the Eurovision Song Contest.

In many ways, the stiff upper lip has begun to show signs of wobble in latter days, with explosions of road rage and demonstrations of public grief becoming part of our emotional range. During a genuine calamity, though, our capacity for keeping calm and carrying on remains undiminished.