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Glite Dictionary
to grin like the cat that ate the canary

to grin like the cat that ate the canary

8.8
To smile in a proud, secret way because you feel pleased with yourself
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sonreír con satisfacción
  • After winning the game, she grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

Examples

  • He walked into the meeting with a grin like the cat that ate the canary, clearly pleased with himself.

  • Look at him grinning like the cat that ate the canary after his promotion!

  • After hearing the news, she couldn't help but wear a grin like the cat that ate the canary.

  • Whenever he manages to close a big deal, he gets that unmistakable grin like the cat that ate the canary.

  • After winning the award, he wore a grin like the cat that ate the canary, savoring his success.

  • She came home with a grin like the cat that ate the canary after acing her exam.

  • He couldn't hide his grin like the cat that ate the canary when he revealed the surprise party he had planned.

Synonyms

to gloat
vsto grin like the cat that ate the canary
60 6.9

Show pleasure about your success or someone else's failure in a way that makes others feel bad

is a private smug smile focused on secret cleverness not public boasting
to smirk
vsto grin like the cat that ate the canary
35 4.4

To smile in a way that shows you feel pleased with yourself and dislike for others

is a smug smile about secret cleverness rather than openly scornful

Antonyms

frown
54 1.0

A facial expression with the eyebrows pushed together showing dislike or worry

How Smug

to grin like the cat that ate the canary
  • Informal
8.8
to smirk
35 4.4
to smile
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

grin like the cat that ate the canary infinitive

Morphology

grin + like + the + cat + that + eat + the + canary

Although the literal words describe a cat that ate a canary, that visual image does not transparently yield the specific sense 'self‑satisfied or smug' to an average B1 learner. This is a conventional, culturally bound simile whose meaning is idiomatic rather than strictly compositional, so learners who only know the constituents are unlikely to infer the intended sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom grin like the cat that ate the canary comes from the image of a cat that has secretly eaten a bright canary and now sits with a proud, guilty smile. That's why it means 'to smile proudly or be pleased with oneself'.