Well attestedNamed from the place
Glasgow smile
noun · first attested 20th century
The wound is named for the city whose gang reputation was built by a single novel.
A scar running from the corners of the mouth toward the ears, made by cutting the face.
55.8611°N -4.2500°W · Q4093
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 20th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Glasgow
- In English
Glasgow smile
The practice is associated with the razor gangs of interwar Glasgow, whose notoriety was fixed by No Mean City, the 1935 novel about the Gorbals by Alexander McArthur and Kingsley Long. London's equivalent phrases are Chelsea grin and Chelsea smile. The cut is designed to scar rather than to kill.
Also pinned to Glasgow
3 more from the same place
United Kingdom
All 108 entries 104 more words from United Kingdom
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