Flench

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To quickly move or contort the mouth in a manner that shows the teeth, often connected with distress or confrontation
2. To swiftly retract the lips, exposing the teeth, typically in response to irritation or menace
3. To draw back the lips suddenly to expose the teeth, often showing discomfort or anger

Etymology: "Flench" is an alternative spelling of "flense," a verb that originally meant to strip the blubber from a whale or seal. The word was borrowed from Danish "flense," a term from the whaling trade, and the spelling "flench" shows the same word written with a different final consonant cluster. In that trade sense, the word describes peeling the thick layer of fat off a carcass in long strips. The sense of drawing back the lips to bare the teeth is a later extension, and it sits oddly with the word's maritime origin. The connection is one of resemblance rather than a shared story: a snarl strips back a covering to expose what lies beneath, much as a flensing knife strips back blubber. Readers who know the older whaling sense will recognise the same idea of stripping away to reveal.

Synonyms: grind, clench, clamp, squeeze, tug