soup-strainer

9.9

A thick mustache above the lip that catches food

noun

Slang

: bigote

After growing his soup-strainer, he had to wipe his mouth more carefully after meals.

Examples

That old photo shows my grandfather with a thick soup-strainer above his lip.
I couldn't help but notice the impressive soup-strainer he was sporting at the party.
He has a thick soup-strainer that he proudly shows off.
Look at that soup-strainer on his face!
After growing his soup-strainer, he had to wipe his mouth more carefully after meals.
I couldn't help but notice the impressive soup-strainer he was sporting at the party.
That old photo shows my grandfather with a thick soup-strainer above his lip.

Synonyms

stache

vssoup-strainer

Slang

8 9.3

Hair on the upper lip that men usually grow

emphasizes large bushy growth likely to trap food rather than just any lip hair

mustache

vssoup-strainer

2 2.1

A very large, bushy growth of hair above the upper lip that grows down the sides of the mouth

is the informal name emphasizing that such hair may catch food or soup

Antonyms

clean-shaven

12 3.5

A person with no hair on the face, like on the chin and cheeks

How Bushy

soup-strainer

Slang

9.9

walrus mustache

1 6.6

handle-bars

7.4

mustache

134 1.3

Surface Forms

soup-strainer singular

soup-strainers plural

Morphology

soup-strainer = soup + strainer (semi-transparent) = soup + strainer

The compound 'soup' + 'strainer' is compositionally clear, but the slang metaphorical meaning 'mustache' requires cultural knowledge and is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Soup-strainer is a playful name made from soup and strainer, like the kitchen tool that 'catches' bits in a liquid. So it jokingly means a large mustache that might 'catch' food or soup.