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.
"Ye needn't girn that away, Jane Browst," whispered Aunt Perrine, emphatically.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 60, October, 1862 by Various
The auld folk are crouse, and they craw That their putting is pawky and slee; In a bunker they're nae gude ava', But to girn, and to gar the sand flee.
From Ballads in Blue China by Andrew Lang
"I won't girn any more if you'll court me," she promised.
From The Foolish Lovers by St. John G. (St. John Greer) Ervine
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 Alexander Hislop
The girn, my informant said, was never out its face, and it yammered on night and day.
From Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century by James Napier
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
