English · Idiom Historical

to curl the lip

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To express contempt or disgust with the mouth.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

bày tỏ khinh thường hoặc ghê tởm bằng miệng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

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.

Topics: Mouth & tongue Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to curl the lip” mean?

To express contempt or disgust with the mouth.

Is “to curl the lip” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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