stand on dignity
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stand on (one's) dignity
1. To maintain one's dignity or propriety when faced with challenges. It's hard to stand on your dignity when you've lost all of your worldly possessions.
2. To demand better treatment than others are given. I can't believe he's trying to stand on his dignity and get us to call him "sir" when we all have more seniority than him.
stand on one's dignity
to remain dignified in spite of difficulties. I will stand on my dignity to the very end. she stood on her dignity and ignored all the nonsense going on around her.