face that would stop a clock
- idiom
- Offensive
:
cara de culo
- Some comedians make fun of themselves by joking they have a face that would stop a clock.
Examples
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His mother said he had a face that would stop a clock, but she loved him anyway.
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The villain in the story is described as having a face that would stop a clock.
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She has a face that would stop a clock!
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I can't believe he has a face that would stop a clock.
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Some comedians joke that they have a face that would stop a clock, using humor to address their looks.
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The character in the movie was said to have a face that would stop a clock, heightening the comic absurdity.
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In a humorous twist, he remarked that his friend had a face that would stop a clock, poking fun at his appearance.
Synonyms
A face that looks very ugly
A face that people think is very ugly
Antonyms
How Ugly
171
5.1
- Offensive
866
1.0
37
1.8
50
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
face + that + would + stop + a + clock
The idiom 'face that would stop a clock' relies on a culturally specific hyperbolic image rather than a compositional meaning derivable from 'face', 'would', 'stop' and 'clock'. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would likely find the literal reading odd and would not predict that it means 'extremely unattractive' without prior exposure, so the connection is unpredictable and idiomatic.
Etymology
Face that would stop a clock uses a simple, funny picture: one popular story says a face is so shocking that it would stop a clock, as if even a clock would pause in surprise. That's why it means 'extremely unattractive' or 'unpleasant to look at'.