Glasgow smile
A Glasgow smile (also known as a Chelsea grin/smile, or a Glasgow, Smiley, Huyton, A buck 50, forced smile or Cheshire grin) is a wound caused by making a cut from the corners of a victim's mouth up to the ears, leaving a scar in the shape of a smile.[2][3]
The act is usually performed with a utility knife or a piece of broken glass, leaving a scar which causes the victim to appear to be smiling broadly.[4] The practice is said to have originated in Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1920s and 30s.[5]
Notable victims
- Fang Xiaoru (1357–1402), Chinese scholar-official[6]
- Agustín Lara (1897–1970), Mexican composer[7]
- William Joyce (1906–1946), American-born fascist and Nazi propaganda broadcaster during World War II[8]
- Elizabeth Short (1924–1947), also known as Black Dahlia, an American woman found murdered in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California[9]
- Lee Seung-bok (1959–1968), a nine-year-old South Korean boy murdered by North Korean commandos
- Tommy Flanagan (born 1965), a Scottish actor who got attacked with a knife[1]
In popular culture
In modern fiction, the Glasgow smile has become a characteristic physical feature of some incarnations of the Batman villain Joker, most famously in Heath Ledger's interpretation;[10] the yakuza boss Masao Kakihara, from the manga Ichi the Killer; and the creepypasta character Jeff the Killer.
In music, it is the name of the band Chelsea Grin. Additionally, there is a Bring Me the Horizon song by the title of Chelsea Smile.
In sports, it is used as an offensive attack in professional wrestling, when a wrestler uses an object, usually a small PVC pipe or cylindrical object, places it horizontally into their opponent's mouth, and pulls backward. The move was popularised by people such as Adam Copeland and Finn Balor.
See also
- Colombian necktie
- Dueling scar
- Glasgow razor gangs
- Glasgow's miles better – 1980s advertising campaign
- Headbutt, known as a "Glasgow kiss" or "Glaswegian kiss"
- Joker (The Dark Knight)
- Ichi the Killer
- Kuchisake-onna ("Slit-Mouthed Woman")
- Slashing (crime)
References
- ^ a b Fretts, Bruce (12 November 2014). "Sons of Anarchy's Tommy Flanagan on Those Facial Scars, This Final Season, and Chibs". Vulture. New York. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ Mills, Rod (27 October 2008). "Surgeon Says Hospitals Treat a Knife Victim Every Six Hours". Daily Express. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ^ Arlidge, John (24 April 1995). "City Slicker Glasgow". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ^ Peter Ward Booth; Barry L. Eppley; Rainer Schmelzeisen (2003), Maxillofacial trauma and esthetic facial reconstruction, Churchill Livingstone, p. 555, ISBN 9780443071249
- ^ McKay, Reg (19 October 2007). "Razor gangs ruled the streets but even in the violence of pre-war years, one man stood out". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ Elman, Benjamin (2013). Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China. Harvard University Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780674724952.
- ^ "AGUSTIN LARA, POET AND COMPOSER, DIES". The New York Times. 7 November 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ West, Rebecca (1964). The New Meaning of Treason. Viking Press. p. 25.
- ^ "Hollywood's most famous unsolved murder". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ Zornetta, Monica (30 May 2025). "La tortura dietro il sorriso eterno: dov'è nato il ghigno di Joker". Domani (in Italian). Retrieved 26 September 2025.