shit-eating grin
English edit
Etymology edit
Possibly from a contraction of "grinning like a ’possum eating shit",[1] later detached from meaning and persisting due to its vividness (cf. "there are many ways to skin a cat" or "happy as a clam").
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
shit-eating grin (plural shit-eating grins)
- (idiomatic, vulgar) A broad smile indicating self-awareness that may suggest self-satisfaction, smugness, discomfort, or embarrassment.
Usage notes edit
- The term is ambiguous and may indicate either a genuine broad smile (e.g. smug happiness) or a fake broad smile (e.g. trying to hide or get away with something).
Quotations edit
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:shit-eating grin.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
broad smile of smugness
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broad smile of embarrassment
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References edit
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.