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shit-eating grin. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
shit-eating grin, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
shit-eating grin in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
shit-eating grin you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Possibly from a contraction of "grinning like a ’possum eating shit", later detached from meaning and persisting due to its vividness (cf. "there are many ways to skin a cat" or "happy as a clam").
Pronunciation
Noun
shit-eating grin (plural shit-eating grins)
- (idiomatic, vulgar) A broad smile indicating self-awareness that may suggest self-satisfaction, smugness, discomfort, or embarrassment.
2006, Ted Bell, Spy: A Thriller, →ISBN, page 29:He was at the wheel of his brand-new 1965 GTO, top down, wearing a super-sized shit-eating grin on his face. 
Usage notes
- The term is ambiguous and may indicate either a genuine broad smile (e.g. smug happiness) or a fake broad smile (e.g. trying to hide or get away with something).
Quotations
Synonyms
Translations
broad smile of embarrassment
References
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.