Have a face that would stop a clock?

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asked Jul 17 in Words & Wordplay by Mellaspot (1,220 points)
Have a face that would stop a clock?

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answered Jul 17 by Gloverdragon (25,650 points)
Have a face that would stop a clock means to have a very ugly face and be extremely unattractive.

Having a face that would stop a clock always used to mean ugly and not beautiful and it sounds dated although it is still very understandable.

When someone says that someone else has a face that would stop a clock it implies that the person's appearance is so unpleasant or startling that it could theoretically halt the movement of a clock's mechanism.

The phrase a face that would stop a clock is often used humorously or unkindly to someone to describe a persons appearance being ugly and unattractive.

The phrase of have a face that would stop a clock is thought to be from the early 20th century, with the idea being that the face is so shocking that it would cause the mechanism of a clock to fail.

It's mainly associated with unattractiveness, although some people interpret it as being a way of saying that someone once had a strikingly beautiful face.

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