Smile phrases

To grin; to smile. I was tellin' my best jokes, but Jim never cracked a smile. She looked surprised, and then cracked a big, beautiful smile.

flash a smile (at someone)

Fig. to smile quickly and perhaps briefly at someone. She flashed a smile at me as if she recognized me.

grin from ear to ear

Fig. to smile a very wide, beaming smile. She was grinning from ear to ear as she accepted the prize. We knew Timmy was happy because he was grinning from ear to ear.

Keep smiling.

a good-bye phrase encouraging someone to have good spirits. John: Things are really getting tough. Sue: Well, just keep smiling. Things will get better. Bill: What a day! I'm exhausted and depressed. Bob: Not to worry. Keep smiling. Things will calm down.

put a smile on someone's face

Fig. to please someone; to make someone happy. We are going to give Andy a pretty good raise, and I know that'll put a smile on his face. The surprise birthday party really put a smile on my dad's face.

smile (up)on someone or something

to bestow approval on someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) Fate has smiled upon me at last! I wish good luck would smile on me.

smile at someone

to make a smiling face at someone. I love the way you smile at me. I am glad you smile at me occasionally.

smile on someone or something

to be favorable to someone or something. Fate smiled on me and I got the job. Lady luck smiled on our venture and we made a profit.

smile when you say that

Inf. I will interpret that remark as a joke or as kidding. John: You're a real pain in the neck. Bob: Smile when you say that. Sue: I'm going to bop you on the head! John: Smile when you say that!

smiling like a Cheshire cat

Fig. smiling very broadly. (Alludes to a grinning cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.) There he stood, smiling like a Cheshire cat, waiting for his weekly pay.

plumber’s smile

n. the upper part of the gluteal cleft (crack sense 1) visible above the beltline of a man, bent over at work. I came into the kitchen and was greeted by a plumber’s smile owned by some guy working under the sink. She referred to the overexposure of his rear end over his belt as the “working man’s smile.”

working man’s smile

put a smile on someone’s face

tv. to please someone; to make someone happy. We are going to give Andy a pretty good raise, and I know that’ll put a smile on his face.

smile

n. a drink of liquor; liquor. Come over and join me for a smiley.

Smile when you say that

sent. Give some sort of a signal that you are only joking when you say something potentially offensive. I told him he’d better smile when he says that, or he’s going to get in trouble.

wearing (nothing but) a smile

tv. naked. This doll came on stage and within ten minutes she was wearing nothing but a smile.

wearing a smile

smile on

To regard someone or something with favor or approval: Good fortune smiled on our efforts, and our plan succeeded.

crack a smile

Smile, as in Betty was a very serious person; she rarely cracked a smile. This colloquialism transfers crack in the sense of "break" to breaking a serious facial expression into a smile.

Look with favor or approval on, as in The current administration smiles on anyone who gives it helpful publicity. [c. 1400]