Glasgow smile

A drawing depicting a Glasgow Smile.

The Glasgow Smile (also known as the Chelsea Smile or the Glasgow Grin) is a particularly brutal form of mutilation and torture believed to have originated in the streets of Glasgow during the era of the blade gangs, who would slash victims across the cheeks to give them a horrific "smile" due to scars.

The Chelsea Smile is a similar torture devised by football hooligans in which a victim's cheeks are sliced open, some exceptionally sadistic thugs were said to only inflict a small cut on either side of their victims mouth and put salt in the wound, causing the victim to scream and stretch the wound into a "smile".

A Glasgow Smile was found carved on the face of Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia, when she was found brutally murdered in Los Angeles on January 15, 1947.

Popular Culture in Fictions

• In The Dark Knight the Joker has a Glasgow Smile and he says the popular quote "Let's put a Smile on that Face".
• Jeff from Jeff the Killer carved himself Glasgow Smile with his knife and tell his mom that he's so beautiful.
• Tommy Flanagan (actor best known for his role as Filip "Chibs" Telford on the TV show Sons of Anarchy) was attacked and given his own Glasgow Smile while he worked as a DJ in Scotland.
• the slit mouthed woman was given this by her husband according to japanese legend.