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Glite Dictionary
mug file

mug file

8.1
A set of police photos of arrested people used to identify suspects
  • noun
  • /mʌɡ faɪl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : fichero de fotos
  • She recognized the thief's face from the mug file shown to her by police.

Examples

  • The detective searched the mug file for a match to the suspect.

  • Before computers, officers maintained a physical mug file at the station.

  • The police keep a mug file of known offenders.

  • Have you seen the latest mug files from the precinct?

  • The detective searched the mug file for a match to the suspect.

  • Before computers, officers maintained a physical mug file at the station.

  • The police keep a mug file of known offenders.

Synonyms

mug book
vsmug file
  • Jargon
2 7.8

A book of photos of arrested people that police use to identify suspects

is the same idea but uses a different, more formal wording
rogue's gallery
vsmug file
  • Jargon
1 8.8

A collection of police photos of known criminals used to identify suspects

is the same idea but in more neutral nonidiomatic language

Surface Forms

mug file singular
mug files plural

Morphology

mug + file

Given the constituents 'mug' (face) and 'file' (collection), the compound directly yields the meaning 'a collection of faces/mug shots' used for identification. The relation is compositional and follows ordinary noun + noun compounding patterns, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Mug file comes from police work: mug is a slang word for a person's 'face', and officers kept a file of photographs called mug shots. So a mug file is a set of these photos used to 'identify' criminals.