sidey grin
- noun
- Informal
:
sonrisa pícara
- She gave him a sidey grin before revealing her surprise.
Examples
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With a sidey grin, the child slipped the note under the door.
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A sidey grin spread across Jack's face as he shared the secret.
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He had a sidey grin when he told the joke.
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Look at that sidey grin on her face!
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A sidey grin appeared on his face as he planned the surprise party.
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She flashed a sidey grin before spilling the secret to her friends.
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With a sidey grin, he hinted at the joke everyone was about to hear.
Synonyms
33
4.2
A smile that shows you feel pleased with yourself and dislike for others
3
9.9
A smug, annoying smile that shows someone is pleased with themselves
1
4.8
A playful look that shows confidence or teasing
A playful, slightly naughty smile that shows someone is teasing
A look on the face that shows playful, slightly naughty charm
Antonyms
1
4.6
A calm, quiet way of behaving that shows you are thinking about important things
How Sly
Surface Forms
Morphology
sidey + grin
The noun 'grin' is transparent, but 'sidey' is nonstandard and not listed in the dictionary; however it plausibly derives from 'side/sideways' and suggests a sideways, sly or knowing smile. Because the meaning can be partly inferred from this colloquial morphological link yet requires dialectal or metaphorical inference rather than straightforward composition, a B1 learner would only partially predict the exact sense.
Etymology
Sidey grin comes from the image of someone smiling at the side of their mouth, a small half smile that looks like they know a secret. That's why sidey and grin together mean 'a sly or mischievous smile'.