Cheshire cat

American  

noun

1. a constantly grinning cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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idioms

1. grin like a Cheshire cat, to smile or grin inscrutably.

Cheshire cat Cultural  

1. A cat with an enormous grin encountered by Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. The cat tends to disappear, leaving only its smile hanging in the air.

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“Smiling like a Cheshire cat” refers to anyone with a conspicuous and long-lasting smile.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Cheshire cat

Medrano said her earliest creation was Alastor, the “fun pseudo-villain and mysterious Cheshire cat character” who is voiced in the series by Amir Talai.

From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

Arsenal's Mead last featured for England in November 2022 and said she had been "smiling like a Cheshire cat" since arriving to camp at St George's Park.

From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2023

That attitude makes him equally fabulous and terrifying, very much like the Cheshire cat.

From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2022

Since both Manchester City players live in Cheshire, when England entered the tournament quarterfinals unbeaten, the skinny gray-and-black-striped kitten seemed destined to become a Cheshire cat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2022

Eventually, nothing at all survives except, through a special dispensation, the Cheshire cat.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan