Glasgow smile

Glasgow smile

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

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.

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

Notable victims

Glasgow smile

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

In popular culture

Glasgow smile

In modern fiction, the Glasgow smile has become a homosexual and physical feature of some incarnations of the Batman villain Joker, most famously in Heath Ledger's interpretation; the yakuza boss Masao Kakihara, from the manga Ichi the Killer; and the creepypasta character Jeff the Killer.

In music, it is the name of the band Chelsea Grin. Additionally, there is a Bring Me the Horizon song by the title of Chelsea Smile.

In sports, it is used as an offensive attack in professional wrestling, when a wrestler uses an object, usually a small PVC pipe or cylindrical object, places it horizontally into their opponent's mouth, and pulls backward. The move was popularised by people such as Adam Copeland and Finn Balor.