birth-control glasses

A form of birth control glasses — The brown-framed prescription eyeglasses issued to new recruits in the U.S. military, or similar glasses issued to inmates at certain state or federal prisons, and perceived as notoriously unattractive.

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Meanings

nounbirth-control glasses pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of birth control glasses.

    Blanchard was this tall, blocky guy with bad skin and birth-control glasses, those ugly-ass, Army-issue black-framed glasses that only look good on ironic alternative rock musicians, which he was not.

    2010, Lisa Brachmann, Rock Paper Tiger, New York, N.Y.: Soho Press, Inc., →ISBN, page 86
    4 more examples

    On a foggy day at sea “Marvin” could have been Tom’s double. Well, minus a clean shave, roughly two inches of extra height, dark brown hair buzzed Marine-Corps short, and a killer set of birth-control glasses hooked to his late-thirties, twice-broken nose. At least they were wearing matching navy-blue suits. Marvin also had the dubious honor of matching Anna’s description of the former NCIS Agent Foster to a tee. […] The birth-control glasses went flying as his prey bucked violently.

    2003, Candace Irvin, A Dangerous Engagement (Intimate Moments), New York, N.Y.: Silhouette Books, →ISBN, pages 203 and 206

    “I like your glasses,” she says as she unwraps a platter of brownies. “They’re very hip. Retro, even.” […] “Dad calls them birth-control glasses.” […] I explain that he thinks they look like the ones they gave him when he was in Army boot camp and that they’re so ugly, nobody would get near you. […] He looks like he doesn’t belong in Oak Prairie. He looks like he could wear my retro birth-control glasses and fit right in at Franklin, where I go to school in Minneapolis.

    2015, Carrie Mesrobian, Cut Both Ways, New York, N.Y.: Harper, →ISBN, pages 6–7

    “Very good,” he said. “Especially from twenty feet away. You must have excellent distance vision. What was he wearing?” / She drew a complete blank. She simply couldn’t remember. How odd. / “You can’t remember because you were focused on his face, which, admittedly, is his most interesting feature. I can relate to that.” / She turned her head to look directly at him and thought she saw the trace of a smile, although with those birth-control glasses she couldn’t be too sure.

    2017, P[eter] T[homas] Deutermann, Red Swan, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 24

    “Hey, Stevie, put your birth-control glasses on and come see this,” said Chief Petty Officer Dennis “Sparky” Cramer to his subordinate and good friend, Seaman Stephen Matteson. Birth-control glasses are standard, military-issued eyeglasses known for their lack of aesthetic appeal, i.e., ugly enough to function as contraceptives.

    2017, Bob Laurent, chapter 46, in Thin Places: A Supernatural Thriller, Meadville, Pa.: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 173
Cite this entry
APA

birth-control glasses. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/birth-control%20glasses

MLA

“birth-control glasses.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/birth-control%20glasses. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “birth-control glasses,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/birth-control%20glasses.

Source: birth-control glasses on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.