set one's face against

set (one's) face against (something)

To be strongly opposed to or disapproving of something. My parents set their faces against me marrying her, so we eloped. The CEO has promised to set his face against any pay cuts or job losses following the disastrous third-quarter performance.See also: face, set

set one's face against

Strongly disapprove, as in Her parents set their faces against her eloping. The term set one's face has been used in the sense of "assume a fixed facial expression" since the mid-1500s. See also: face, set