Сегодня мы научимся использовать фразу a long face. "Длинная физиономия"? "Вытянутое лицо"? Что же она означает?

Давайте рассмотрим типичные контексты с этой фразой:

I'm waiting for Helen. I saw her in the corridor earlier, and she was looking a bit unhappy. Wait, here she is.

- Hi Helen! What's the matter? Why the long face? 

- I've just had a really bad day – everything has gone wrong. First I lost my car keys, then I was late for a meeting and I fell over and tripped and landed in a puddle on my way. It was a horrible day.

- It sounds awful. I know, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up – you'll like this one........

Итак, "why the long face?" употребляется, когда мы видим, что человек обеспокоен или расстроен, и означает то же, что и

what's the matter? или 

what's up? или

what's wrong? или

why do you look so miserable? 

= "Что случилось?", "В чем дело?".

Еще примеры:

• You've just got a new job, a new house and a new man – you should be happy! Why the long face?

• Hey there, don't look so sad! Why the long face?

Надеюсь, your face will never be long :)

Источник примеров - BBC.