not turn a hair
To show no outward emotion when something bad happens or is announced; to maintain a perfectly calm demeanor. I thought he'd be devastated after losing the race, but he didn't turn a hair. You have to give Jane credit. She didn't turn a hair when the customer started shouting in her face. The woman, not turning a hair, paid nearly $30 grand in cash for the diamond-encrusted necklace.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
turn a hair, not
Not become afraid or upset, remain calm, as in She didn't turn a hair during the bank robbery. This term, also put as without turning a hair, comes from horse racing. After a race, a horse often has roughened, outward-turned hair. Its figurative use, nearly always in the negative, dates from the late 1800s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.