face that would stop a clock

plural faces that would stop a clock · plural faces that would stop clocks · alternative face that could stop a clock

1. idiomaticA shockingly unattractive face.

   He described the thug as a very ugly and wicked-looking man, with a face that "would stop a clock".

   1891 March 20, “The Mystery Still Deep: Queer story told by a strange young Englishman”, in New York Times, page 5

   2 more examples

   We realize that all women are fair only in theory and that if we arranged them in the order of fairness we should have at one end the face that launched a thousand ships and at the other end the face that would stop a clock.

   1927, “Editorial Comment: Thinking Statistically”, in Educational Research Bulletin, volume 6, number 7, page 142

   Archie was an artist, finely chiselled, "the type girls go for like catnip." He . . . was expected to marry an American heiress. But she loved a muscular curate with a face that would stop a clock.

   2004 July 4, Barbara Hall, “Bookwise: Questions”, in Sunday Times, UK, retrieved 05 Jul 2008

2. idiomaticA shockingly attractive face.

   Hey darlin' I can remember when you could stop a clock.

   1983, John Cougar Mellencamp, Pink Houses