grin like a Cheshire cat en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Attested since at least the 1780s. The reason why Cheshire was combined with cat is disputed: see here for more information.
Meanings
-
(qualifier:simile) To smile broadly, especially in a self-satisfied way.
John ended the set with a beautiful serve, an ace, and could not help grinning like a Cheshire cat.
‘It’s almost as if we’ve gone silly with happiness,’ said Marcus two days later. ‘Everyone in the house going round grinning like a lot of Cheshire Cats! The family I mean.’ ‘And Jess,’ said Kitto quickly. ‘Oh well, Jess is as good as family,’ said Fanny comfortably. Jessamy said nothing, but she looked up quickly and her smile would have rivalled any Cheshire Cat.
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 127:CHESHIRE CAT. He grins like a Cheshire cat; said of any one who shows his teeth and gums in laughing.
1788, Francis Grose, A classical dictionary of the vulgar tongue, 2nd corrected and enlarged edition, London:Lo, like a Cheshire cat our court will grin.
1792, John Wolcot (under the pseudonym Peter Pindar), Pair of Lyric Epistles:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| grins like a Cheshire cat | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| grinned like a Cheshire cat | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| grinned like a Cheshire cat | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| grinning like a Cheshire cat | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (13)
de grinsen wie ein Honigkuchenpferd (to smile broadly) · fi hymyillä korvasta korvaan (to smile broadly) · fr sourire jusqu'aux oreilles (to smile broadly) · sv grina som en solvarg (to smile broadly) · it sfoggiare un sorriso a trentadue denti (to smile broadly) · hu fülig ér a szája (to smile broadly) · es sonreír de oreja a oreja (to smile broadly) · hu vigyorog, mint a fakutya/vadkörte/tejbetök (to smile broadly) · tr pişmiş kelle gibi sırıtmak (to smile broadly) · de grinsen von Ohr zu Ohr (to smile broadly) · it mostrare un sorriso a trentadue denti (to smile broadly) · fi hymyillä kuin Hangon keksi (to smile broadly) · et kõrvuni naeratama (to smile broadly)