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thick mustache

thick mustache

1 3.0
Thick hair above the upper lip on a man's face
  • noun
  • /θɪk ˈmʌstæʃ/
  • US
translation icon : bigote grueso
  • She thought momentarily of him, his smell, his way of looking, the thick mustache that went with his slow manner of speaking.
  • a thick mustache man
  • a thick mustache and hair
  • a thick mustache and eyes

Examples

  • Another doctor stood beside her, tall and with a thick mustache.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Besides, you look pretty cute with a thick mustache.

  • His hair is gray, and he has a thick mustache that still has some red in it.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • He sported a thick mustache.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And we watched the driver, a swarthy young man with a thick mustache, come out of the little door, put his money in his pocket, and close the door.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • His long dark sideburns were as neatly trimmed as his thick mustache.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • " Carl Mack was darker, but he had the same thick mustache, slick hair, and sideburns.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • And he had this thick mustache, a crucifix earring, and a dog's head belt buckle.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • He looked like Gallagher, the 1970s comedian—the same long hair and bald pate, the same thick mustache.

    Academic text (2011)
  • His hair is gray, and he has a thick mustache that still has some red in it.

Synonyms

mustache
vsthick mustache
  • US
2 2.1

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

is a large bushy growth focused on density not side growth
walrus mustache
vsthick mustache
1 6.6

Thick hair on the face that hangs over the mouth like walrus whiskers

is dense and bushy but does not necessarily droop over the mouth

How Bushy

thick mustache
  • US
1 3.0
mustache
  • US
134 1.3
clean-shaven
12 3.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

thick + mustache

The meaning is directly compositional: 'thick' (dense, substantial) modifies 'mustache' (facial hair), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a large, bushy mustache. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and the adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common, making the expression transparent.

Etymology

Thick mustache creates a clear picture: thick means very full and mustache is the hair above the lip. In old photos and uniforms a big, bushy mustache made a man look older or strong, so the phrase means 'a large, bushy mustache'.