mug

[muhg] /mʌg/
noun
1.
a drinking cup, usually cylindrical in shape, having a handle, and often of a heavy substance, as earthenware.
2.
the quantity it holds.
3.
Slang.
  1. the face.
  2. the mouth.
  3. an exaggerated facial expression; grimace, as in acting.
  4. a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.
4.
British Slang. a gullible person; dupe; fool.
verb (used with object), mugged, mugging.
5.
to assault or menace, especially with the intention of robbery.
6.
Slang. to photograph (a person), especially in compliance with an official or legal requirement.
verb (used without object), mugged, mugging.
7.
Slang. to grimace; exaggerate a facial expression, as in acting.
Origin
1560-70; probably < Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg, Norwegian, Danish mugge drinking cup; sense “face” apparently transferred from cups adorned with grotesque faces; sense “to assault” from earlier pugilistic slang “to strike in the face, fight”
Can be confused
burglarize, mug, rip off, rob, steal (see synonym study at rob)
Examples from the web for mug
  • Bertillon also standardized the criminal mug shot and the evidence picture.
British Dictionary definitions for mug

mug1

/mʌɡ/
noun
1.
a drinking vessel with a handle, usually cylindrical and made of earthenware
2.
Also called mugful. the quantity held by a mug or its contents
Word Origin
C16: probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg

mug2

/mʌɡ/
noun
1.
(slang) a person's face or mouth: get your ugly mug out of here!
2.
(slang) a grimace
3.
(Brit, slang) a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily
4.
a mug's game, a worthless activity
verb mugs, mugging, mugged
5.
(transitive) (informal) to attack or rob (someone) violently
6.
(intransitive) (Brit, slang) to pull faces or overact, esp in front of a camera
See also mug up
Word Origin
C18: perhaps from mug1, since drinking vessels were sometimes modelled into the likeness of a face
Word Origin and History for mug
n.

"drinking vessel," 1560s, "bowl, pot, jug," of unknown origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Swedish mugg "mug, jug," Norwegian mugge "pitcher, open can for warm drinks"), or Low German mokke, mukke "mug," also of unknown origin.

"a person's face," 1708, possibly from mug (n.1), on notion of drinking mugs shaped like grotesque faces. Sense of "portrait or photograph in police records (e.g. mug shot, 1950) had emerged by 1887. Hence, also, "a person" (especially "a criminal"), 1890.

v.

"to beat up," 1818, originally "to strike the face" (in pugilism), from mug (n.2). The general meaning "attack" is first attested 1846, and "attack to rob" is from 1864. Perhaps influenced by thieves' slang mug "dupe, fool, sucker" (1851). Related: Mugged; mugging.

"make exaggerated facial expressions," 1855, originally theatrical slang, from mug (n.2). Related: Mugged; mugging.

Slang definitions & phrases for mug

mug

noun
  1. The face: showing so unperturbed a face, so impudent a ''mug'' (1708+)
  2. A photograph of the face; mug shot: a police mug, front and profile (1887+)
  3. A man; fellow, esp a tough, rude sort or a pugilist or hoodlum: Those mugs on the corner seem menacing (1895+)
verb
  1. To photograph a person's face, esp for police records: When crooks are photographed they are ''mugged'' (1899+)
  2. To make exaggerated faces, grimaces, etc, for humorous effect: while Danny mugs through his program (1855+)
  3. To assault and injure someone in the course of a robbery: The victims were mugged in the hallways of their homes (1818+)

[probably fr drinking mugs made to resemble grotesque human faces; the sense of violent assault comes fr mid-1800s British specialization of the term ''rob by violent strangulation,'' probably fr mug-hunter, ''a thief who seeks out victims who are mugs'' (easy marks)]