girn
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
-
to snarl
-
to grimace; pull grotesque faces
-
to complain fretfully or peevishly
Etymology
Origin of girn
C14: a variant of grin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What gies him that side-look, that fearfu girn, an' his slouchin walk!
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. XX by Leighton, Alexander
Can He no shift it frae the tae airm to the tither, but the bairn maun girn?
From The Elect Lady by MacDonald, George
She has a way of glowerin' a body and giving a bit of a girn to her mouth.
From The Northern Iron by Birmingham, George A.
To "girn in a widdy" is to laugh or girn when a halter is round the neck—meaning that it is no joke to be placed in a difficult or dangerous position.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander
It's nae laughing to girn in a widdy.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
