# What's this facial expression called? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710 "2014-11-15T18:06:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/1 "2014-11-15T18:06:55Z")
Often seen in TV commercials. The mother pauses in the hall and peers into the children’s bedroom. The kids are doing something especially cute. The mom squints and does a sort of a frown. It’s not a smile and not really a frown. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/2 "2014-11-15T18:14:45Z")
[This one?](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/18/article-2205210-1514AC72000005DC-308_306x423.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/3 "2014-11-15T18:20:57Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > [This one?](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/18/article-2205210-1514AC72000005DC-308_306x423.jpg) Not quite :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/4 "2014-11-15T18:27:29Z")
Glaring? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/5 "2014-11-15T18:30:43Z")
Something like [this](http://bodylanguagetrainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/mean-squinting.jpg)? If so, I don’t know that it has a name. Let’s invent one! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/6 "2014-11-15T18:34:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Glaring? Apparently I’ve done a poor job of describing the expression. The expression is one of adoration, and it could be accompanied by an “awww…” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/7 "2014-11-15T18:52:52Z")
[Simpering](https://classictvhistory.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/cathy-simpering.jpg) comes closest, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/8 "2014-11-15T18:55:14Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Something like [this](http://bodylanguagetrainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/mean-squinting.jpg)? > > If so, I don’t know that it has a name. Let’s invent one! That’s just a pissed off frown. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/9 "2014-11-15T19:15:13Z")
I’ll call the expression "those wacky kids’ and wouldn’t be surprised to find it accompanied by head shaking. It is more like the pursed lips of someone trying not to smile. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/10 "2014-11-15T19:21:48Z")
Is it something like the “[oh you!](https://www.google.com/search?q=oh+you&num=20&client=firefox-a&hs=Q6P&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=p6dnVL66IPaQsQTp-YCwDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1340&bih=750)” expression? ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/11 "2014-11-15T19:24:25Z")
Bemused exasperation? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/12 "2014-11-15T19:40:41Z")
Maybe a link to one of these commercials? Removing the guessing game might help. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/13 "2014-11-15T22:22:12Z")
Kind of like [this](http://drargo.com/wp-content/themes/dandelion/images/confidence_home.png)? Or [this](http://www.gailsibley.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/IMG_1085_2.jpg)? I’d call that holding back a smile, or wonderment. ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/14 "2014-11-16T00:25:52Z")
I think I know exactly what expression you’re talking about, but I’m having trouble finding a picture because I don’t know what to call it either! Is it the one where the parent crosses their arms and sighs because the kid’s getting into trouble, but it’s so cute that the parent can’t really be mad? Oh, or I guess what **jnglmassiv** said. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/15 "2014-11-16T01:11:35Z")
Is it the “awwwwwwwwwwww?” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/16 "2014-11-16T04:26:14Z")
Maybe it’s a combination? A Joey Tribbiani “Smelling a fart” followed by a “Not exposing the teeth smile”? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/17 "2014-11-16T05:03:30Z")
Ghent (adj.): Descriptive of the mood indicated by cartoonists by drawing a character’s mouth as a wavy line. -Douglas Adams, _The Meaning Of Liff_. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/18 "2014-11-16T05:15:11Z")
[This one](http://olegvolk.net/gallery/friendsandstrangers/cassie/bemused.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1)? I found it by searching for “bemused”…not because that’s what bemused means or looks like, but because people very often used bemused incorrectly to mean just that kind of look that’s a mixture of bewildered and amused, and so I figured I could find that expression with that search term. So…I’m going to vote for a descriptivist bemused. Not what dictionaries say bemused means, but what bemused is coming to mean as more and more people are using it that way. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/19 "2014-11-16T05:37:07Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Often seen in TV commercials. The mother pauses in the hall and peers into the children’s bedroom. The kids are doing something especially cute. The mom squints and does a sort of a frown. It’s not a smile and not really a frown. I call it “Icky Poo” ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710/20 "2014-11-16T05:41:56Z")
Rolleyes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-facial-expression-called/704710.md?page=2)