What does a face that could stop a clock mean?

Noun. face that would stop a clock (plural faces that would stop a clock) (idiomatic) A shockingly unattractive face. quotations ▼ (idiomatic) A shockingly attractive face.

What is the etymology of clock?

The word clock derives from the medieval Latin word for ‘bell’—clogga—and has cognates in many European languages. Clocks spread to England from the Low Countries, so the English word came from the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch Klocke.

Where did clean your clock come from?

This expression originated during the 1900s. It is possibly related to the idea that a clock has a face, and cleaning someone’s clock often implies punching someone in the face. The word clean also had a slang definition meaning to defeat or beat since the 1800s.

Is clock a Latin word?

The Latin word was horologium (source of French horologe, Spanish reloj, Italian oriolo, orologio); the Greeks used a water-clock (klepsydra, literally “water thief;” see clepsydra).

What does clock mean as a verb?

transitive verb. 1a : to time with a stopwatch or by an electric timing device. b : to be timed at. 2 : to register on a mechanical recording device wind velocities were clocked at 80 miles per hour. 3 : to hit hard.

What does it mean when someone says they’re going to clean your clock?

Beat, thrash, or defeat someone decisively, as in He’s much bigger than you and could easily clean your clock. This term originated in the military. The use of clock is unclear but possibly alludes to hitting someone in the face (for “clockface”). [

What does clean your plow mean?

clean (one’s) plow To physically attack one, as with punches and other blows, such that they suffer significant injury.

Does clock mean bell?

The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning “bell”. A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece.

Why do we say 9 o clock?

We say “nine o’clock” simply because it is short for “nine of the clock.” Definitely “of,” not “on,” as one person has suggested.

What is the meaning of 4 o clock?

The “o” is a contraction or abbreviation of “four of the clock”.

What is VLSI clock?

In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal (historically also known as logic beat) oscillates between a high and a low state and is used like a metronome to coordinate actions of digital circuits. A clock signal is produced by a clock generator.

What is the etymology of the phrase ‘stop the clock’?

(more)Loading…. The phrase appears to be a 20th century coinage. The assumption, as far as the UK is concerned, is that a face that could stop a clock is an unattractive, even extremely unattractive one. There is no special etymology, merely an image of such a face so shocking a clock’s mechanism that it halts.

What does face that would stop a clock mean?

This is a humoristic way of saying that someone is ugly or unattractive. “You’ll recognize him – he’s tall and thin, with a face that would stop a clock!” This expression refers to a patch of stubble on the face of a man who hasn’t shaved for at least a day. “He looked tired and had a five o’clock shadow.”

What is the meaning of cursed face?

A face that is strikingly or shockingly unattractive. His physique was remarkable, but unfortunately he was cursed with a face that only a mother could love. She is extraordinarily bright, but she has a face only a mother could love. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

What is the origin of the expression “death by hanging”?

In its earliest incarnation in the 1700s, the expression described condemned men who struggled the longest when they were executed by hanging. The phrase later became even more popular after 1811’s Battle of Albuera during the Napoleonic Wars.