image credit: damianosullivan cc'Mug' is one of those terms that is rarely used anymore in normal conversation. Nowadays, the most common usage is in 'mug shot,' which is usually referring to athletes or Hollywood's bad boys, whose mug shots frequently appear on the nightly news. Still, most of us don't need newscast reminders that a mug is a face. And often an ugly one at that!
'Mug' has been used as a noun to describe the face and as a verb of the word 'grimace' since the 17th century. It most likely derives from 'mugg,' a Scandinavian word for a drinking vessel.
