Why is a Face called a "Mug"?

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.

"Mug" is one of those terms that is rarely used anymore in normal conversation. Nowadays, the most common usage is in "mug shot," which is usually referring to athletes or Hollywood's bad boys, whose mug shots frequently appear on the nightly news. Still, most of us don't need newscast reminders that a mug is a face. And often an ugly one at that!

We've watched the Three Stooges and Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Cagney films and DVDs that seem to have their own vernacular. This is, of course, just the normal, ever-changing speech patterns, expressions, and nomenclature of each particular generation.

For example, a normal person might say, "I had some competition getting the attention of a woman." But in old-time Movieland language, this is spoken as, "Say, I got into a scrape with a palooka over a dame. A real wise guy. Why, I socked him right in his ugly mug!" (These words are always spoken in a Brooklyn accent, regardless of whether the place is New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, L.A., Mexico City, or ancient Rome. In old-time Movieland, pretty much everybody sounds like Jimmy Cagney or Bugs Bunny.)

"Mug" predates old-time Movieland, though. It has been used as a noun to describe the face and as a verb of the word "grimace" since the 17th century. It most likely derives from "mugg," a Scandinavian word for a drinking vessel.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, mugs were often decorated with cartoonishly-drawn human faces. This may have led to the use of "mug" as a synonym for an ugly face. Although a bit archaic, "mug" is still used to describe a less-than-beautiful face.

In the modern world, one would ordinarily talk about Mickey Rourke's mug or Keith Richards' mug, as opposed to Jennifer Anniston's or Brad Pitt's mug.  

Keith Richards (left) and Brad Pitt (right). Can you tell the difference?

Another theory is that "mug" comes from "mukha," the Sanskit word for face. They have yet to determine, however, whether Sanskit is ever spoken with a Brookyn accent.

The term "mug shot," referring to a photo taken of a prisoner or someone in police custody in a jail or prison, is thought to haves derived from the "grimace" definition cited earlier. A person in police custody would after "mug," or grimace in order to change the shape or features of his face. This was done to make him less easily identifiable.

Arrestees "mugging" for the camera.

One last "mug" usage is, of course, the noun (often called a "mugging") or verb, the act or action of assaulting someone, almost always to rob them of money. This probably (I cannot locate its origin anywhere) is in referring to the perpetrator of the assault/robbery crime as a "mug," or an ugly-faced criminal.


Comments (2)

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"In the 17th and 18th centuries, mugs were often decorated with cartoonishly-drawn human faces."

I googled "anthropomorphic drinking vessel" and got lots of interesting stuff in an image search. Do you have any sources for further reading?
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Can't speak for the UFT, but the NEA's employees are actually unionized at each level, and negotiate accordingly, exactly because we do want to model this. The NEA is the largest teachers' union in the nation.
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The main purpose of any organization is the same as any animal, survival. It is not in the interest of the organization to support activities which weaken its power or compete on its mission. Even when an organization builds a lifespan into its mission statement, the people that make up that organization often fail to adhere to that ideal. Why purposefully make your job irrelevant? Better to invent new reasons for continued existence.

I worked for an organization that was created in the 1950s that initially had a 3-year study mission.
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Alex,

I have never commented on this sight. I come here for fun, but I do notice that you only and often post anti-union pieces. I checked the link you have to the New York Post, a Rupert Murdoch owned publication which states that what you have posted is only an accusation. Nothing has been proven.

Unions, like any organization do make mistakes, but it would be nice if you posted stories about unions fighting when people have been unfairly fired, working for decent wages, and generally improving people's lives.

But perhaps this is a politically conservative web site and I didn't know it. Do other people know your hatred of unions and working people? Do others know that you pass off Newscorp and Fox biased Murdoch news? Do your advertisers know it? I will not look at this site any more and I plan to tell others of your bias.
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@Jason

To me, the Neatorama post seems to be a very fair piece on unions. It is an article defending a groups right to unionize. The guy wanted to form a union, was fired for his idea, and the article is making it known to all.
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@Jason

Not all of us carry the same politics and will find some articles neat. Others won't. Big deal. There's no need to sling accusations of hatred or thinly veiled attacks through advertisers. Unless, of course, you wanted to shut Alex up, which seems to be your intent.
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I love when people stomp their feet. I imagine their teeny tiny minds rattling around their big empty skulls.

CYA Jason, no one cares if you stay or leave. The interwebby is a very big place, and your presence or absence is not even a rounding error on the webstats.
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Another person screaming persecution and blaming Alex... how quaint. Take the information anyway you want with whatever source it's from, and understand that chances are there is going to be a bias somewhere. Don’t shoot the messenger if you have a gripe, but instead yell at the guy that wrote the original article if you don’t agree with it.
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Sounds iffy, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Is it ironic that a "veteran writer for the United Federation of Teachers" who's paid $100K/yr uses "whoever" and not "whomever" as the direct object?
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I believe that Jason's response to all such criticism would be well-considered and deeply thought out. He would analyze the arguments made for and against his position and reply to his opponents, "LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
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