shit-eating grin

English

Etymology

Possibly from a contraction of "grinning like a ’possum eating shit"(compare alsohappy as a pig in shit); 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

• Audio(General Australian):

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Noun

shit-eatinggrin(pluralshit-eating grins)

1. (idiomatic,vulgar)A broadsmileindicatingself-awarenessthat may suggestself-satisfaction,smugness,discomfort,orembarrassment.

   Synonyms:coprophagous grin(rare),fish-eating grin(expurgated),simper

   Near-synonym:smirk

   • 2006,Ted Bell,Spy: A Thriller,→ISBN,page29:

     He was at the wheel of his brand-new 1965 GTO, top down, wearing a super-sizedshit-eating grinon his face. 

Usage notes

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

• For more quotations using this term, seeCitations:shit-eating grin.

Related terms

• shiteater

Translations

broad smile of smugness

• French:rictus jubilatoirem,sourire de faux-culm
• Japanese:ドヤ nhan(ja)(doyagao)

broad smile of embarrassment

• French:sourire à manger de la merdem

References

• Oxford English Dictionary,2nd ed., 1989.