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The origins of the phrase 'grinning like a Cheshire cat' are unknown, but there are several theories.

According to Martin Gardner, in his Annotated Alice, the two leading theories are that a sign painter in Cheshire painted grinning lions on the sign boards of local inns and that Cheshire cheeses used to be molded in the shape of a grinning cat. It is not known whether either of these theories is correct.

The phrase first appears in print in the second edition of Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, from 1778:

"Cheshire Cat He grins like a Cheshire cat; said of any one who shows his teeth and gums in laughing."

The term was popularised by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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1mo ago
  1. "Grin from ear to ear"
  2. "All smiles"
  3. "Beaming"
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Q: What are other idioms for grin like a Cheshire Cat?
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What is a Cheshire grin?

A Cheshire grin refers to a wide, mischievous smile reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." It is often used to describe a smile that is enigmatic or secretive in nature.


'To grin like a Cheshire Cat' comes from which Lewis Carroll work?

The phrase "grin like a Cheshire Cat" comes from Lewis Carroll's book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." In the story, the Cheshire Cat is known for its wide, mischievous grin that remains even after its body disappears.


What does Cheshire mean?

Cheshire is a county in England. (As it happens, it is the county where Lewis Carroll was born.) The phrase 'grin like a Cheshire cat' was well known in Carroll's day and was undoubtedly the inspiration for Carroll's famous character. It is not known, however, how the phrase originated.


How does the Cheshire Cat only show his smile?

The Cheshire Cat in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" can make parts of his body disappear, leaving only his smile visible. This ability to appear and disappear at will plays into the whimsical and fantastical nature of the story.


Who was the cool cat in Alice in Wonderland?

In Alice in Wonderland Alice meets a Cheshire cat.`Please would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, `why your cat grins like that?'`It's a Cheshire cat,' said the Duchess, `and that's why.The Cheshire Cat is a tabby British shorthair cat.


Who is the author cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland?

The Cheshire Cat first appears in Chapter 6, Pig and Pepper, in Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in WonderlandCarroll's creation was inspired by the phrase 'grin like a Cheshire cat', which means to grin very widely, showing the teeth and gumsThe origin of the phrase 'grin like a Cheshire cat' is unknown, but it is thought that it might come from the fact that Cheshire cheese used to be molded into the shape of a smiling catThe Cheshire Cat wasn't in the story that Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell, who inspired Alice in Wonderland, but was added later in the version he wrote for publicationThe Cheshire Cat belongs to the DuchessAlthough the narrator refers to the Cheshire Cat as 'it' throughout Carroll's book, it is thought to be male as the Queen of Hearts says "Off with his head" about itIt is famous for disappearing, leaving only its grinIn the 1951 Disney movie he is voiced by Sterling HollowayDisney's Cheshire Cat can be spotted during the final scene of the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit


Sentence of ingratiating grin?

we not have to grin every day like mental people


Why couldn't the Cheshire Cat be beheaded?

The Cheshire Cat in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" couldn't be beheaded because he is a magical creature that can disappear and reappear at will. He is not bound by the physical rules of the real world like other characters in the story.


Are cheshire cats real?

The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat appearing in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The character is derived from an old English simile, "grinning like a Cheshire cat." It appears and disappears at will, engaging Alice in amusing but sometimes vexing conversation. The cat sometimes points out philosophical points that annoy Alice. It does, however, appear to cheer her up when it turns up suddenly at the Queen of Hearts' croquet field, and when sentenced to death baffles everyone by making its body disappear, but its head remain visible, sparking a massive argument between the King, the Queen and the executioner about whether or not something that does not have a body can indeed be beheaded.At one point, the cat disappears gradually until nothing is left but its grin, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat. This has become a point of notability for the cat: most people remember it most strongly performing its vanishing act.Of course, there are cats which live in the English county of Cheshire but, disappointingly, they are the same as all other domestic cats.


Why do Cheshire cats grin?

Perhaps the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland grins because it's amused by the foolishness of people.The origins of the phrase 'grinning like a Cheshire cat' are unknown, but there are several theories. According to Martin Gardner, in his Annotated Alice, the two leading theories are:A sign painter in Cheshire (the county, by the way, where Carroll was born) painted grinning lions on the sign boards of inns in the area.Cheshire cheeses were at one time molded in the shape of a grinning cat.


Which one of the five is least like the other four taste smile grin frown grimace?

That would be taste.


Does the Cheshire Cat evaporate?

In "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," the Cheshire Cat is known to disappear or vanish at will, rather than physically evaporate like a liquid. The character's ability to appear and disappear with only its grin remaining is one of its defining traits in the story.