Glasgow smile

"Chelsea grin" and "Chelsea smile" redirect here. For the deathcore band, see Chelsea Grin. For the metalcore song by Bring Me the Horizon, see Chelsea Smile (song).

For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation).

A Glasgow smile (also known as a Chelsea grin/smile, or a Glasgow, Smiley, Huyton, A buck 50, forced smile or Cheshire grin) is a wound caused by making a cut from the corners of a victim's mouth up to the ears, leaving a scar in the shape of a smile.^[2][3]

Actor Tommy Flanagan has the scars of a Glasgow smile from having been attacked outside a bar in Glasgow.^[1]

The act is usually performed with a utility knife or a piece of broken glass, leaving a scar which causes the victim to appear to be smiling broadly.^[4]

The practice is said to have originated in Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1920s and 30s.^[5]

Notable victims

• Fang Xiaoru (1357–1402), Chinese scholar-official^[6]
• Agustín Lara (1897–1970), Mexican composer^[7]
• William Joyce (1906–1946), American-born fascist and Nazi propaganda broadcaster during World War II^[8]
• Elizabeth Short (1924–1947), also known as Black Dahlia, an American woman found murdered in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California^[9]
• Lee Seung-bok (1959–1968), a nine-year-old South Korean boy murdered by North Korean commandos
• Tommy Flanagan (born 1965), a Scottish actor^[1]

See also

• Colombian necktie
• Dueling scar
• Glasgow razor gangs
• Glasgow's miles better – 1980s advertising campaign
• Headbutt, known as a "Glasgow kiss" or "Glaswegian kiss"
• Joker (The Dark Knight)
• Ichi the Killer
• Kuchisake-onna ("Slit-Mouthed Woman")
• Slashing (crime)