ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pull faces

idiom
Meaning

To make abnormal facial expressions, especially for amusement or to ridicule another person.


Examples
SIMPLE

The baby likes to pull faces at me.

CONTEXTUAL

The children started to pull faces behind the teacher's back during the long lesson.

COMPLEX

Despite the serious tone of the meeting, the bored teenager could not resist pulling faces at his younger brother.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bash someone's face in

    To beat someone violently.

  2. 02

    blow up in one's face

    To fail disastrously.

  3. 03

    boat

    [Cockney slang]face

  4. 04

    break someone's face

    To beat up someone violently.

  5. 05

    butter face

    Alternative form of butterface.

  6. 06

    close the face

    To turn the face of the bat inwards, in order to hit the ball to the leg side.

  7. 07

    cut off one's nose to spite one's face

    To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.

  8. 08

    face down

    To confront; to abash by stern looks.

Last updated April 17, 2026