the.com/grin
a face caught between joy and threat, daring you to guess which.
means To smile broadly, often baring the teeth, whether from happiness, embarrassment, or sheer cheek.
from From Old English 'grennian,' to show the teeth — which originally leaned toward the snarl rather than the smile. It has cousins across the Germanic family (German 'greinen,' to whimper or grimace) and likely springs from a root meaning to make a face. The teeth-baring stayed; the menace mostly faded, leaving a word that still remembers it was once half a growl.
- forced version
- Faked grins prompt real ones in others
- word origin
- Once meant baring teeth in pain or rage
- the cheshire
- A grin can outlast the face wearing it
- muscle math
- Zygomaticus major hauls your mouth skyward
grin and bear it — british idiom meaning to endure something unpleasant without complaint, dating back to the 1700s
the grin reaper — nickname for the cheshire cat character in lewis carroll's alice in wonderland, known for his unsettling grin