A rattrap mouth?

Cafe Society
1

OK, so I was reading me some Howard (Shadows in the Moonlight, to be exact), and one of the characters was described as having a “rattrap mouth”.

What?

I can’t really imagine what it would look like. The OED wasn’t much help, saying: Also fig., and attrib. in sense ‘resembling a rat-trap’.

Yes, well, that’s what I don’t get. They had this helpful example:

1978 R. Westall Devil on Road xxiii. 217 He had a rat-trap jaw and little deep-set eyes.

A rat-trap jaw seems to make a bit more sense, but I still can’t really visualise it.

Who knows, maybe I even know a few people with rattrap mouths, and just don’t know it.

So, any ideas? Also, other examples of baffling descriptions are welcome. I can’t be the only one having troubles in this regard.

2

I assume it’s just square and snappy. Honestly though “rat trap mouth” sounds more like a description of a a cutting or sniping personality, rather than a physical appearance.

3

I"m guessing it means this kind? http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/images/trex_large.jpg

That’s what I was picturing. Very squre jaw, and the habit of closing the mouth hard and tight-lipped.

4

Yes, that helps. I guess it was the ‘mouth’ which was putting me off. A jaw like that is easier to imagine.

Thank you both for helping this non-native speaker of English.

5

Could it be clenched teeth ?

6

That’s actually what I think of when I see Christian Bale.

7

Really? Christian Bale? He looks a bit… pensive, but a rat-trap mouth?

Hmmm. This is more complicated than I thought.