lantern jaws
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Cheeks so thin and hollow that one may almost see daylight through them, as light shows through the horn of a lantern.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “lantern jaws” mean?
Cheeks so thin and hollow that one may almost see daylight through them, as light shows through the horn of a lantern.
Is “lantern jaws” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.