A gurn or chuck is a distorted

facial expression Facial expression is the motion and positioning of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers and are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying ...

and a verb to describe the action. A typical gurn involves projecting the

lower jaw In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

as far forward and up as possible and covering the upper lip with the lower lip. The English Dialect Dictionary, compiled by Joseph Wright, defines the word ''gurn'' as "to snarl as a dog; to look savage; to distort the countenance," while the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

suggests the derivation may originally be Scottish, related to ''grin''. In Northern Ireland, the verb ''to gurn'' means "to cry", and crying is often referred to as "gurnin'". Originally the Scottish dialectical usage refers to a person who is complaining. The term ''gurn'' may also refer to an involuntary facial muscular contortion experienced as a side-effect of

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consumption.

Gurning contests

Gurning contests are a rural English tradition. They are held regularly in some villages, with contestants traditionally framing their faces through a

horse collar A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to wh ...

—known as "gurnin' through a braffin". The World Gurning Championship takes place annually at the Egremont Crab Fair. The fair dates back to 1267, when King Henry III granted it a Royal Charter. The origins of the gurning competition itself are unclear, and it may not be so old, although it was described as an ancient tradition by local newspaper ''The Cumberland Paquet'' in 1852. Those with the greatest gurn capabilities are often those with no teeth, as this provides greater room to move the jaw further up. In some cases, the elderly or otherwise toothless can be capable of gurns covering the entire nose. Peter Jackman became England's best-known gurner, winning the world championship four times, beginning in 1998 with a face called the "

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

". He made numerous TV appearances, including an appearance on '' They Think It's All Over''. He had his teeth removed in 2000 to make his features easier to manoeuvre. The only male gurner to win the world title 15 times is Tommy Mattinson (UK), who took the top prize at the World Gurning Championship in 1986–87 and then 10 times between 1999 and 2010. Anne Woods won the women's world title 28 times.

References

External links

BBC: In Pictures – World Gurning Championship

Guinness World Records
{{Authority control Culture in Cumbria Facial expressions