face that would stop a clock
noun1
Idiomatic A shockingly unattractive face.
- He described the thug as a very ugly and wicked-looking man, with a face that "would stop a clock".1891 March 20, “The Mystery Still Deep: Queer story told by a strange young Englishman”, in New York Times, page 5:
- We realize that all women are fair only in theory and that if we arranged them in the order of fairness we should have at one end the face that launched a thousand ships and at the other end the face that would stop a clock.1927, “Editorial Comment: Thinking Statistically”, in Educational Research Bulletin, volume 6, number 7, page 142:
1 more example
- Archie was an artist, finely chiselled, "the type girls go for like catnip." He . . . was expected to marry an American heiress. But she loved a muscular curate with a face that would stop a clock.2004 July 4, Barbara Hall, “Bookwise: Questions”, in Sunday Times, UK, retrieved 05 Jul 2008:
2
Idiomatic A shockingly attractive face.
- Hey darlin' I can remember when you could stop a clock.1983, John Cougar Mellencamp, Pink Houses: