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cornfed look

cornfed look

8.9
A healthy strong appearance like a person from a farm
  • noun
  • /ˈkɔrnˌfɛd lʊk/
  • Informal
translation icon : apariencia saludable
  • The football team was full of players with that classic cornfed look.

Examples

  • Her cornfed look made her stand out in the urban crowd.

  • Her cornfed look with rosy cheeks and a sturdy build made her the picture of rural vitality.

  • After years on the farm, he had a real cornfed look about him.

  • She has a charming cornfed look that many admire.

  • His cornfed look makes him stand out in the city.

  • After years on the farm, he developed a strong cornfed look that showed he was healthy and robust.

  • The football players all had that classic cornfed look, reflecting their Midwestern roots and strong physiques.

How Robust

cornfed look
  • Informal
8.9
thinness
2 2.3

Surface Forms

cornfed look singular
cornfed looks plural

Morphology

cornfed + look

The compound 'cornfed' is compositionally transparent as 'fed on corn', so a learner who knows 'corn' and 'fed' can infer a sense of being well‑nourished or robust, and 'cornfed look' thus conveys a healthy, sturdy appearance. However, the regional/social connotations (rural or Midwestern charm) are culturally specific and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partly transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The phrase cornfed look may come from a simple farm picture: animals fed on corn grow big and healthy, so being cornfed came to mean well-fed and strong. That's why a cornfed look describes someone who looks 'healthy', 'strong', and 'from the countryside'.