# A rattrap mouth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562 "2012-11-01T14:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/1 "2012-11-01T14:02:09Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Mystery\_and\_the\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/53a042/32.png) [@History\_Mystery\_and\_the\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Mystery_and_the_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/2 "2012-11-01T14:35:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/3 "2012-11-01T15:45:02Z")
I"m guessing it means this kind? [http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/images/trex\_large.jpg](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. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/4 "2012-11-01T15:55:01Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > That’s what I was picturing. Very squre jaw, and the habit of closing the mouth hard and tight-lipped. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/5 "2012-11-02T16:27:01Z")
Could it be clenched teeth ? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/6 "2012-11-02T18:45:30Z")
That’s actually what I think of when I see Christian Bale. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rattrap-mouth/639562/7 "2012-11-02T22:22:11Z")
Really? Christian Bale? He looks a bit… pensive, but a rat-trap mouth? Hmmm. This is more complicated than I thought.