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Pull a moue

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on August 25, 2009 at 18:24

In Reply to: Pull a moue posted by ESC on August 24, 2009 at 20:06:

: : What might the origin of "pull a moue" be? I know that a moue is a grimace, but how,or why, would one pull it?

: It seems to me that in British novels the characters "pull a face."

In the UK we do indeed "pull a face"; in fact it's news to me that you people across the pond don't! But we don't normally "pull a moue". "Pull" in this context implies that the facial muscles are tugged sharply awry. This doesn't really describe a moue, which is a cute little pout, frequently flirtatious in intent. (Napoleon's Empress Josephine had terrible teeth and so was reluctant to smile; instead she perfected a piquant and seductive moue, for which she was celebrated.) So to my mind you don't properly "pull" a moue; you just "make" one.

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