Line #181 Main/TechnicallyASmile


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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1203883244_7515.jpg]]]]
10
11	->'''Linton:''' At least he's smiling.\
12	'''Lottie:''' That's not a smile. That's the face you get when somebody says "cheese"...then takes two minutes to work out how to use the camera. That ''hurts''.
13	-->-- ''Webcomic/BadMachinery''
14
15	Technically a Smile is when the narration (or narrat''or'', in the case of first-person) notes that the mere fact of baring one's teeth doesn't necessarily make a "smile", in the sense of an expression designed to convey friendliness, happiness or harmlessness.
16
17	Humans are one of the few creatures to bare their teeth as anything other than a threat; this trope comes into play during those times when a "smile" conveys something more... animalistic. Look for the phrase "didn't reach their eyes" to appear.
18
19	Obviously, this is far more common in print media. In comics, film and TV, the expression doesn't have to be described because the audience can see it right there.
20
21	This is probably the trope that inspired a classic series of humorous posters a few decades back (often seen in libraries and such) showing scowling animals, each one with the caption "I ''am'' smiling."
22
23	SuperTrope to:
24	* BrokenSmile
25	* CheshireCatGrin
26	* FingerForcedSmile
27	* PsychoticSmirk
28	* SlasherSmile
29	* StepfordSmiler
30	* TheUnSmile
31
32	----
33	!!Examples:
34
35	[[foldercontrol]]
36
37	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38	* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'''s Balalaika does this occasionally. It is on those occasions that the audience is reminded that, despite her [[AffablyEvil affability]], she's still a ruthless mass murderer.
39	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
40	** Whenever CombatMedic captain Retsu Unohana smiles, especially with her eyes closed, that is usually because someone has ticked her off and they best stop whatever they're doing or else.
41	** Kensei trying to comfort Hisagi in the Turn Back The Pendulum arc with a smile, which instead scared the poor youngster even more.
42	* [[SnakePeople Sasasul]] in ''Manga/ACentaursLife'' makes an attempt to smile like a human, but since she has a giant snake head the act of showing all her teeth makes [[OurCentaursAreDifferent Himeno]] [[{{Fainting}} pass out]].
43	* The [[OmnicidalManiac Millennium Earl]] from ''Manga/DGrayMan'' always smiles, which is creepy enough. When he gets really, really angry, his smile gets very frightening.
44	* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'':
45	** Izaya Orihara. It is noted occasionally in the graphic novel that his smile "doesn't reach his eyes".
46	** When Akane first meets Shizuo, she gives a smile that's compared to the sort a child would make while stomping on ants. Then she attempts to kill him.
47	* [[EldritchAbomination Kuyo Suo]] does this in the 10th ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' book. [[CharacterNarrator Kyon]] calls it "a perfect simulation of a smile".
48	* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', it's noted that if [[AloofBigBrother Sesshoumaru]] ever smiles, it's generally not a good thing.
49	* PlayedWith in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' When BigBad Fate attempts an EvilLaugh, it seriously freaks out Asuna, because "it doesn't touch his eyes".
50	* When Ren of ''Manga/SkipBeat'' gets angry, he doesn't shout or frown. Instead, he smiles. He smiles so hard that the BishieSparkle can blind onlookers. Kyoko and Yashiro find this to be incredibly terrifying.
51	* ''Manga/TheWallflower'': Sunako Nakahara smiles this way when prompted to smile.
52	* Joey Wheeler from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' sometimes makes a creepy grin which the internet has dubbed "Joey Wheeler's Creepy Chin" whenever:
53	** Someone pulls off an awesome move in the card game
54	** Someone beats him in a game or insults him (basically an intimidation tactic or sign of anger)
55	** When trying to make a point
56	** Or for absolutely no reason at all
57	--->'''Kaiba:''' ''(referring to Noah)'' Oh my god! What's wrong with his face? Guys, are you seeing this? What the hell's wrong with his face?!\
58	'''Joey:''' ''(has the Joey Chin expression)'' I fail to see the problem!\
59	'''Kaiba:''' What the hell is wrong with everybody's face?!
60	** In times Joey is unavailable to [[SarcasmMode grace the screen with his winning smile]], such as [[spoiler:when Yugi and Kaiba are about to potentially end Dartz, because his soul was already stolen prior]], Tristan is more than happy to fill in. In fact, when Joey is available, they sometimes come in twos.
61	* ''Manga/ZatchBell'': Kiyo frequently smiles when he's not at all happy with a situation; it's more of an indication of altogether irritation and/or embarrassment, and is usually accompanied with MindControlEyes. Other characters, like Folgore and [[AuthorAvatar the mangaka himself]], are almost always drawn with that kind of smile, though.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Comic Books]]
65	* In an issue of ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe Special Missions]]'', the Joes go to a rural house to rescue a family from terrorists. They see one guy who always has a [[SlasherSmile crazy-looking grin]] on his face. They initially assume that he is one of the terrorists. Turns out he's one of the hostages, a Marine vet who took shrapnel to the face in Vietnam. This left him with a rictus, a facial spasm that causes a permanent teeth-baring grin.
66	%%* If ComicBook/TheJoker's grin isn't depicted (in comics or animation) as being permanently stuck on his face, it's usually depicted as this trope.%% ZCE. Needs an actual description.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
70	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/12/16 Calvin does a grotesquely awful/hilarious one for a photograph]]. (Think [[Creator/JimCarrey "Fire Marshall Bill"]] from ''Series/InLivingColor'')
71	-->'''Dad:''' ''({{Face Palm}}ing)'' CALVIN!\
72	'''Calvin:''' [[ExactWords That was a smile! I smiled!]]
73	* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
74	** Once when Garfield is on a diet and grumpy about it, Jon keeps urging him to smile. Garfield finally agrees... and grabs the corners of his mouth to twist them upward into a "smile", while still flashing his "angry eyes".
75	** Another has fun with this trope, when Garfield demonstrates two smiles; one with rectangular teeth, and one with triangular, serrated teeth. Naturally, Jon becomes noticeably alarmed at the second one.
76	** [[https://garfield.com/comic/2003/08/17 This Sunday comic from 2003]] has Jon complimenting Garfield's enormous smile, saying "it's nice to see you in a good mood for a change!" In this case, the "smile" is [[spoiler:a grimace of agony from sitting on a mousetrap]].
77	** Even Jon had this [[https://assets.amuniversal.com/90ec73805f68012ee3c100163e41dd5b once]], as Garfield asked for "service with a smile" and Jon's creepy expression made him fear for his meal.
78	* ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'': One strip showed a progression of school photos for Jeremy; with each successive photo, his smile became less and less obvious, showing how life was wearing him down. In another comic, he responded to Connie suggesting he ''smile'' instead of scowl by propping the corners of his mouth up with his fingers.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Fan Works]]
82	* ''Fanfic/ComeAsYouAre'': When Steve Rogers has some FBI agents sent to spy on him trussed up and is standing over their kneeling, ziptie-restrained forms totally not waving his gun at them, one of the agents tells Steve he's crazy. Steve responds to this with a smile, "feeling his face stretch back over his teeth".
83	* Throughout ''Fanfic/EbottsWake'', characters who are facing grim circumstances are described as having smiles that "don't quite reach [their] eyes".
84	* ''Fanfic/FateReachOut'': Ayako observes that there's a major difference beteen how Taiga smiles normally versus when Taiga ''Smiles''.
85	-->On the surface, it had the image of a pleasant, happy, generic smile that anyone can make. But you can make out the small facial differences, like how the lips were strained to stay that way, or how the eyes were closed a little too tightly. But what differs a smile from the Smile is the fact that the former was genuine and the latter promised a swift death.\
86	Man, and I thought only Rin knew how to pull that gesture off.
87	* In ''Fanfic/ForBetterOrForWorseOnePiece'', Luffy teaches his [[PetMonstrosity pet Sea King]] Kinto-un how to "smile" by baring all his teeth at once. When he's given a boat free of charge after asking for one, Luffy assumes that it's because Kinto-un smiled so nicely at them, oblivious to how it was interpreted as an ImpliedDeathThreat.
88	* ''Fanfic/TheGamesWePlayFriendshipIsMagic'': Pinkie Pie starts doing this after Rainbow Dash [[spoiler:rejects her LoveConfession]], much to Dash's discomfort.
89	* ''Fanfic/InTheService'': Signum has turned this into a talent, able to make even the most hardened soldiers squirm... and bring small children to tears.
90	* ''Fanfic/ItsASmallWorldAfterAll'': In ''It's Raining Women'', [[spoiler:Male!Belarus]] finds themselves faced with a group of daycare kids, attempts to smile for them... and fails utterly, terrifying the whole lot.
91	* ''Fanfic/AKnightsTaleAsInquisitor'': While sharing what they know about Arturia with Samson and Calpernia, [[HumanoidAbomination The Elder One]] offers them a 'smile' that only serves to emphasize their inhumanity.
92	* Arba, ''Manga/MagiTheLabyrinthOfMagic'''s resident queen of the NightmareFace, gives one when the Djinn Paimon arrives to rescue Hakuei from Arba's DemonicPossession in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/4975984 Maelstrom]]'':
93	-->The witch grins, her face remembered, but it is a cruel mockery, not only of Paimon but of the very concept of a smile.
94	* ''Fanfic/NewGamePlusUltra'' gives Izuku ResurrectiveImmortality in the form of a Quirk that applies videogame-like rules to his reality, bringing him BackFromTheDead whenever he's killed. At one point, Izuku is so ''sick'' of dying so often that when a desperate mugger accosts him, he smiles back at the man in such a way that utterly ''terrifies'' the would-be thief.
95	* In ''Fanfic/Nightfall2014'', Hiccup was [[RaisedByWolves Raised By Dragons]], and whenever he tries to smile, it tends to turn out this way thanks to how he bares his teeth.
96	* ''Fanfic/AQuincysFairyTail'': Mirajane's attempts at smiling are directly compared to the way [[TheDreaded Retsu Unohana]] smiles when she's reminding others why they should BewareTheNiceOnes.
97	* ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'': [[BitchInSheepsClothing Mme. Bustier]] initially assumes that Zoé will naturally support her agenda of forcing the rest of the class to coddle her favorite student [[SpoiledBrat Chloé]], since they're half-sisters. When Zoé reveals that she already knows about Chloé's long history of bullying, and that she empathizes with her victims since [[ASharedSuffering she's been bullied herself]], Bustier's smile transforms into one of these, turning much smaller as she clenches her teeth, one side of her mouth twitching from poorly contained irritation.
98	* ''Fanfic/TaylorHebertMedhallIntern'': When Alexander smiles at Principal Blackwell, Taylor compares it to that of a friendly shark. Friendly only to ''her'', not the principal.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
102	* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Lumiere attempts to coach the Beast in order to help him win Belle over, "Give her a dashing, debonair smile. Come, come, show me the smile." The Beast tries, but the result mostly involves baring a mouthful of very sharp fangs and is not remotely dashing or debonair. Mrs. Potts, who is also trying to coach him, is aware, however of what it looks like, and quickly warns him not to "frighten the poor girl."
103	* Toothless in ''WesternAnimation/{{How to Train Your Dragon\|2010}}'' [[http://i.imgur.com/jJGGJjX.gifv attempts to smile]] when Hiccup smiles at him. It comes off as more endearing than scary though, because Toothless is UglyCute.
104	* A scene late in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' has Mowgli running away in disgust after both Bagheera and Baloo tell him it's time to leave the jungle. He eventually finds himself wandering through a bleak wasteland that's dangerously close to Shere Khan's territory. A quartet of vultures who look a lot like Music/TheBeatles (and sound like them, too) befriend Mowgli and try to cheer him up - but Mowgli is so miserable that when one of the vultures says: "Give us a smile," all he can do is halfheartedly curl up one corner of his mouth.
105	* ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise:
106	** In ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'', 626 (Stitch) bares his teeth in the most humorously creepy way when he says ''"Hi!"'' to Lilo in an attempt to show friendliness and to get her to adopt him. Considering what happens from there, you could say that it worked.
107	** In ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', when Leroy disguises himself as Stitch to talk to Lilo via intergalactic video chat, he gives a toothy grin while pretending that he's his much friendlier twin brother. It's not very convincing (and considering what the shape of his and Stitch's teeth are like, a bit disturbing as well), especially when Lilo then notices that "Stitch" [[ChekhovsArmoury isn't wearing his tiki necklace]].
108	* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePagemaster'', Horror "smiles" to show he's [[DarkIsNotEvil actually very friendly.]] Unfortunately, he has bad teeth, thin lips, and an ugly face to boot, so it comes off as frightening/hideous anyway.
109	-->'''Fantasy:''' Aw, look, he's smiling!\
110	'''Richard:''' That's a smile?
111	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei gives her parents a strained smile in an attempt to show she is not furious about their denial of her request to go to the 4*Town concert.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
115	* Wednesday in the film ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues'' makes a pseudo-smile after an attempted brainwashing by being subjected to Disney movies. [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pKb5s3_b7tA/Uu_1mhYDsxI/AAAAAAAAAWI/yzTtdYnz4Eg/s1600/Wednesday+Addams+Smiles.jpg It's incredibly creepy]].
116	-->'''Amanda:''' She's scaring me!
117	* Michael Keaton's Film/{{Batman\|1989}} smiles a couple of times. It's easily the scariest expression he's got.
118	* In ''Film/BeverlyHillsChihuahua 2'', Pedro the pitbull makes a snarling-like face that many say is a smile. Many characters in the film either show disgust, fright, or exasperation towards this, especially since this got him kicked out of the dog show. Later on, he uses it against robbers, saying "This ISN'T a smile!"
119	* When ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' is beginning to reform, he gives an imitation of a smile at a press conference. It looked more like a snarl.
120	* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' features one from Elsa, after she "helps" Donovan choose the "right" grail.
121	* The same goes for Creator/PierceBrosnan's Film/JamesBond, who only ever smiles ''sincerely'' when he is murdering human beings.
122	* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
123	** In the Director's Cut of ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', John Connor tries to teach the title killer robot to smile. The results are horrifying enough that John abandons the attempt.
124	** Done again in ''Film/TerminatorGenisys''. This time Sarah Connor tries teaching him to smile with horrendous results. Majority of his attempts freak-out/disturb any of the witnesses. Later, this smile ends up on the T-850/T-800's mugshot, much to the police's confusion.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Literature]]
128	* ''Literature/TwentySixSixtySix'': Azucena Esquivel Plata doesn’t even attempt to hide her bitterness and resentment.
129	* In ''Literature/AmericanGods'', Wednesday has a habit of grinning without a hint of amusement or kindness, and it doesn't take long before Shadow is reminded of chimpanzees baring their teeth to show hostility.
130	* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'', human Lije Baley asks humanoid robot Daneel Olivaw, "Can you smile?" Daneel ''can'', technically, but it doesn't reach his eyes and Baley finds it more unnerving than reassuring.
131	* Morrachane, an awful woman in one of the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' books, has such an unnatural-looking smile that it takes the main character a second to figure out what her face is doing.
132	* In ''Literature/ColinFischer'', Colin notes that the look in his cruel classmate Rudy's eyes never seems to change, no matter what his mouth is doing.
133	* From Creator/CharlesStross' short "[[Literature/TheLaundryFiles The Concrete Jungle]]":
134	-->[Angleton] ''smiles'', and despite all the horrible sights I've seen today so far, I hope most of all that I never see it again before the day I die.
135	* The Abh are described as having elevated this to an art form in ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars''. The narration points out that while it looks like a smile, in their culture, it's a sign that they are going to destroy you, and it's compared to getting a bouquet of scorched roses. When it was animated, the version Lafiel [[http://seikai.wikia.com/wiki/Abriel_Lafiel?file=Death_Glare_of_Lafiel.JPG displays at one point]] to Baron Febdash after he ''really'' pisses her off was... pretty intimidating.
136	* Mentioned in ''Literature/DannyTheChampionOfTheWorld''. A "mouth smile" without an "eye smile" is said to look disturbingly wrong. Therefore, the protagonist's father skips the mouth smile entirely, smiling ''only'' with his eyes.
137	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
138	** The books have this from time to time, usually with werewolves and vampires, but sometimes with Vetinari, and once even with Vimes.
139	--->Vimes' smile was as funny as the one that moves very fast towards drowning sailors. And has a fin on top.
140	** Rincewind does it at least once too -- in his case, it's a rictus grin of sheer terror.
141	** And Granny Weatherwax, who has the "corners of her mouth turn up slightly when [[LaserGuidedKarma something bad is about to happen to someone she thinks deserves it]]".
142	** The Librarian (a three-hundred-pound orangutan) smiles a lot. Or at least, his lips turn up showing lots and lots of big yellow teeth.
143	** Implied with Death, who is said more than once to not have much other choice than to grin. Skeletons do technically smile all the time.
144	** Inverted with Nobby, who is quite cheerful, but as a result of his general [[{{Gonk}} Nobby-ness]] has to be asked to ''stop'' smiling when having his picture taken.
145	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
146	** In ''Literature/WhiteNight'', Marcone is described as making a facial expression where the corners of his mouth turn up and he shows his teeth, but doesn't smile at all.
147	** Harry himself is also prone to a rather shark-like SlasherSmile when he's about to set someone on fire...
148	** Kincaid is prone to this as well. At one point he's described as having "the kind of smile that would make dogs break into nervous howls."
149	* In ''Literature/TheFifthSeason'':
150	** The Stone Eaters are (occasionally) human-shaped creatures of living stone whose imitations of humanity usually fall straight into the UncannyValley. When they bare their teeth, it's as a threat display to each other, enhanced by the fact that their teeth are diamonds.
151	** The Guardians are EmpoweredBadassNormal {{Mage Killer}}s implanted with a shard of [[spoiler:the [[GaiasVengeance Evil Earth]]'s core]], who go through the motions of smiling simply because it releases endorphins that ease the constant grinding pain of what's been done to them.
152	* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1'': One of the few signs that Ford is a HumanAlien.
153	-->Perhaps it was that he smiled slightly too broadly and gave people the unnerving impression that he was about to go for their neck.
154	* Quite commonplace in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe, with ExactWords eventually showing up when things get '''really''' nasty. See the quotes page.
155	** Also fairly common in the ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' series by [[Creator/DavidWeber the same author]].
156	* In ''Literature/JohannesCabalTheNecromancer'', the title character is described at one point as a "tallish, blond pale man who only ever seemed to deploy a smile as an offensive weapon."
157	* In ''Literature/KateDaniels'', when a shapeshifter smiles with all their teeth showing, it's less "friendly" and more "look what I'm going to rip your throat out with".
158	* A staple of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' books. Kzin are predators, born and bred. So when you can see all of their teeth, this is not a ''friendly'' expression. Likewise, humans dealing with Kzin are well-advised to keep their mouths closed when they smile -- they may be blunt little monkey-teeth but baring them is still a threat/challenge.
159	* Javert from ''Literature/LesMiserables''. "Would you like my hat?"
160	* One of the first things Waver Velvet notices about his student Flat Escardos in ''Literature/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'' is that when he smiles the muscles move in the wrong order. This is because Flat is such a broken person when Waver first meets him that he has to fake smiles using magecraft.
161	* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Sansa Stark immediately notices that [[ManipulativeBastard Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish]] has this kind of smile when meeting him for the first time.
162	* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
163	** ''Literature/XWingSeries'': Wedge Antilles sometimes wears a smile that's pure predator. As he gets older it becomes even more so - in ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'' he once flashes a smile at someone "like he was a rancor, and they were made of meat."
164	** A good deal of the works, particularly that which took place during her political career, depict some variant of the sentence "Leia grinned, showing teeth," giving the notion that the gesture is not particularly friendly.
165	** In ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'', Mace Windu makes at least one attempt to smile, something that he hasn't done in over ten years. He quickly stops trying.
166	* Invoked verbatim when describing Duv Galeni when pushed to his breaking point in the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''.
167	* Nacht, in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', has a smile. Well, in a sense, anyway. It's [[TakeOurWordForIt never accurately described]], but it's been used quite successfully as an interrogation technique.
168	* Seems to occur about once a chapter throughout ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, with the phrase "didn't reach his/her eyes" attached about 80% of the time. In the latest book, one of the Wise Ones makes a comment about Aes Sedai and smiles to show she's joking. The narration notes that she only succeeds in baring her teeth.
169	** The nascent HumanoidAbomination [[spoiler:Padan Fain]] is often described as baring his teeth at people, both because he's usually trying to threaten them and because SanitySlippage from [[spoiler:being {{Mind Rape}}d by the GodOfEvil and then {{fus\|ionDance}}ing with a ghost of pure HatePlague]] has left him with very little awareness of normal human behaviour.
170	* In Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/TheWitches'' the first witch the protagonist encounters is described thusly:
171	-->When most people smile their lips go side-to-side. This lady's went up-and-down, showing lots of her teeth and gums.
172	* In ''Literature/XandriCorelel'', a prominent [[AbsoluteXenophobe Last Hope for Humanity]] terrorist is described as having "the sort of oily smile that clung to your skin, but never reached ''his'' eyes."
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
176	* Sheldon of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' [[TheUnsmile cannot smile (or laugh) to save his life]]. As Leonard put it: "We're here to see Koothrapali, not [[ComicBook/TheJoker kill Batman]]!"
177	** When he does smile it ends up looking like the Grinch's evil grin.
178	* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Terry and Jake walk into a defense attorney party sporting the most forced smiles imaginable.
179	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy meets her mother's surprise romantic interest Ted, and says she's okay with it with a pasted-on smile -- GilliganCut to her whaling on a vampire viciously enough to make Giles cringe.
180	* Michael in ''Series/BurnNotice'' often laughs and smiles, but rarely conveys actual warmth, having great difficulty showing emotion thanks to his abusive childhood and training as a spy. Notably, his fake smiles when dealing with his family are ''much'' more obvious than the ones he uses to deal with criminals, due to their somewhat strained relationship. Some of his antagonists have similar mannerisms. Take a good look at ''Victor's'' smiles sometime; he looks like [[AxCrazy he wants to bite out your throat]].
181	* In one ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode, Sara Sidle is investigating a boxing death and has to examine the dead boxer's spit bucket which is full of bloody saliva. Saliva really grosses her out, but when Warrick Brown notices she's smiling, Sara explains that smiling suppresses the gag reflex.
182	* ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'': "Honey, your teeth are showing, but your lips are tense."
183	* In Xena's second appearance on ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', while she's still a cold-blooded warlord leading a band of marauders, Salmoneus briefly takes over as her P.R. manager and suggests that she smile more. For a brief moment, you can see her trying it as a smile passes over her face. It looks ''very'' out of place.
184	* Lampshaded in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' when Marshall shows a blown-up photo of "The Captain" smiling. He points out that the bottom half of his face is happy, the top half, including the eyes "wants to kill you". He's not exaggerating and "The Captain" often "smiles" like that. Ted is genuinely afraid "The Captain" might kill him.
185	* ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'': Léodagan is said to have an extremely disturbing smile, as does his daughter.
186	-->'''Arthur:''' You have your father's smile.\
187	'''Guenièvre:''' Really? ''(smiles)''\
188	'''Arthur:''' Yeah, don't do that, it's unsettling.
189	* ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'': Mitsuzane Kureshima was a sweet, happy kid before he got caught in a CosmicHorrorStory. His smiles went from normal to empty to dead eyed grins more akin to the rigor mortis of the victims of Joker's laughing gas as his sanity was slowly drained by the events.
190	* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': [[PsychopathicManchild Parado]] reacts to most things by smilling, which naturally creates a wide variety of uncanny expressions. The less scary [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTFGHZGrtbACdEPLAhoEoIlrzR4cxQMz0j5cM1wXKUCoyM0BNlj1g ones]] are a genuinely happy expression, but with all the front teeth barred in a predatory way. They usually appear in reaction to watching people try to murder each other or trying to do the deed himself. The more uncanny [[https://dryedmangoez.com/images/DryedKamen/ExAid/exaid32-1007.jpg ones]] are of the ''dead eyed, teeth barred'' variety and have nothing to do with actual smilling or the usual reason for. None of this still covers how bad things are when [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he]] [[OhCrap drops]] the act alltogether in favor of straight DeathGlare.
191	* [[TheButcher Hilary Briss]] is always doing this on ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen''. The bottom half of his face is split in an enormous SlasherSmile, but his eyes remain the same. Actor Mark Gatiss must have spent a lot of time in front of the mirror practicing, because it's creepy.
192	* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', this golden moment between [[Characters/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineGulDukat Gul Dukat]] and Weyoun, after a nasty barroom brawl between Cardassian and Jem'Hadar soldiers:
193	-->'''Weyoun:''' Our men need to know we are still allies. Smile!\
194	''(Dukat grimaces)''\
195	'''Weyoun:''' ''[[DisapprovingLook Dukat...]]''\
196	'''Dukat:''' ''(through clenched teeth)'' I'm ''smiling''...!
197	* Cromartie's attempts to smile in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' are not convincing.
198	[[/folder]]
199
200	[[folder:Podcasts]]
201	* [[TheNarrator Cecil]] and [[EvilTwin Kevin]] both describe each others' smiles this way in episodes 19A and 19B of ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale''.
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
205	* ''[[Wrestling/{{TNA}} TNA Impact]]'' had a genuinely terrifying example in 2011, when Wrestling/KurtAngle was forced to serve as the best man at the wedding of his ex-wife Karen and his archenemy Wrestling/JeffJarrett. After smashing Karen's face in the wedding cake just before the ceremony, he appeared to have gotten all the anger out of his system and came to the ring for the ceremony with a big smile on his face - only it was obviously faked, and seemed to be creepily frozen on his face. Once the ceremony had concluded and Karen and Jeff had left the ring, Kurt's rage erupted again and he [[WeddingSmashers destroyed the entire set erected for the wedding]]. (Incidentally, this was one of the rare times in ProfessionalWrestling history where the violence occurred ''after'' the newlyweds had left the ring.)
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
209	* {{Inverted\|Trope}} in ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse''. One of the things Lupus Garou, [[HumanityEnsues wolves who turn into humans]], have to get used to when dealing with people is the difference between a smile and a threatening grimace, when both are likely to show teeth.
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Video Games]]
213	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization IV]]'': In the event that Montezuma is furious with you (a very common occurrence unless you happen to follow the same religion he does), he'll spend his diplomatic meetings baring a grin that could crack a sink, teeth grinding the whole way until he loses patience and screams in frustration.
214	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Kimahri attempts to smile once. Tidus' response is "Sad."
215	%% Do not re-add the "technically a laugh" comment about the laughing scene. It was intentionally over-the-top.
216	* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', Raven attempts to smile during one of his support conversations. It hurts his face to do so.
217	* Baraka from ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' always seems like the cheerful type, but that most likely comes from having MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily.
218	* This was implied in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' where one of the [=NPCs=] asked Sonic why he doesn't smile in his Werehog form and wants him to do it. Sonic does so (albeit offscreen) and the NPC was startled by the [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily discovery]], regretting that he asked.
219	* Sans the skeleton from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is... well, a skeleton. As such, his face is stuck in a permanent smile. Thankfully, Sans is a silly, fun dude, so the constant grinning is usually genuine. But on those rare occasions that he's being serious (such as [[spoiler:if you kill his brother, or murder every single monster in the Underground]]), then the effect is ''really'' chilling. It also gives a lot of weight to the description that "He [[WhenHeSmiles looks]] happy." when looking at a photograph he holds onto, especially when you know [[spoiler:that there's [[StepfordSmiler more to his outward demeanor]]]].
220	[[/folder]]
221
222	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
223	* There are about three instances where [[TheHero Atsuki Saijo]] smiles in ''VisualNovel/LuxPain''. The first is when he fights with Mika over the strawberry shortcake. The second one is forced on him by Akira in archive 1. The third one, which is the most disturbing of them all is [[spoiler:Atsuki loses it when Edward calls him a hypocrite. Not only does he smile, but he laughs [[ActorAllusion similar]] to [[Manga/DeathNote Light]]...]]
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Webcomics]]
227	* ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'', twice. Had its own devoted strip [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/8/23/how-to-fake-a-smile.html here,]] and sent up with [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2010/2/28/how-to-pose-a-photo.html "what is a smile but a grimace of happiness?"]]
228	* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'':
229	** {{Inverted\|Trope}} by the anthropomorphic [[UpliftedAnimal Uplifted Wolf]] Florence: smiling like a human doesn't come naturally to her species, so she has to take care to do it properly to put people at ease. In particular, she has to remember [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00354.htm not to show]] her fangs.
230	** Florence isn't beyond {{Invok\|edTrope}}ing the trope: she finds that many arguments can be averted by calmly stating her case and then flashing a big, toothy smile.
231	* Jones of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' [[spoiler:had to learn all emotional responses through observation and mimicry, having none of her own.]] She [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1127 mentions to Antimony]] that she knows how to smile in theory, but in practice it's unnerving. The actual result isn't shown, only Annie's reaction.
232	* ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'':
233	** TheComicallySerious PsychoForHire Mordecai [[http://lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=84 needs a spotter]] to tell him when he's properly faking a smile and when he's stretching his face into a pained rictus.
234	--->'''Viktor:''' Dark look like Valentino is different from dark look like, ehh, "I vill like to murder your family... vith icepick, probably."\
235	'''Mordecai:''' [[NotHyperbole That wasn't remotely like the icepick look.]]
236	** Rocky is also a master of this as shown [[http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=78 here]].
237	* ''Webcomic/MareInternum'' has a benign version that's PlayedForLaughs: Kallakore is of a Martian species with sharklike, mostly inflexible faces, so when Mike asks her to humour him and try a smile, she [[https://www.marecomic.com/comic/ch3-page-53/ opens her mouth]] awkwardly.
238	-->'''Kallakore:''' Er- ...ha?
239	* Luca in ''Webcomic/TheMeek''. [[http://www.meekcomic.com/2009/11/03/2-11/ Just to clarify, in Pasori culture, toothy smiling does not connote good humor.]]
240	* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'':
241	** Hannelore has NoSocialSkills and [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1399 cannot]] [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1585 feign]] a friendly smile. She can smile perfectly fine, just not ''deliberately''.
242	** Faye's [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1215 customer-service smile]] makes the customer recoil in horror and causes her boss to rescind her instruction to "have a smile ready".
243	** When Marigold's unrequited crush makes a joking comment about dropping the [[PuppyDogEyes Sad-Marigold Face]], she [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1535 Marigold tries]] to do so. He's quietly perturbed.
244	[[/folder]]
245
246	[[folder:Western Animation]]
247	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': The Joker's gas victims. They die with a smile on their faces. After laughing uncontrollably. In pain.
248	** To be precise, it's the uncontrolled laughter [[FridgeHorror that kills them]].
249	*** It's worth noting that even the [[WordOfGod producers and writers]] thought it was probably more horrifying than simply killing someone with a gunshot.
250	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Arnold is forced to pair up with Willie the Jolly Olly Man, an ice-cream man who happens to be an intense ChildHater and a TalkativeLoon for Career Day. To help him keep his job, Arnold tries to make him smile to appear friendlier to his young customers, but his grimacing teeth-baring grin just sends the kids running off in terror. By the end, he learns to do a proper smile.
251	* The prehistoric episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' has Patar give what ''might'' be a smile, but just looks disturbing.
252	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", as part of a ScavengerHunt, Mr. Burns needs a photo of himself with a smiling child. To him it sounded easy, but when he rides on Springfield Elementary's school bus, all the children are deathly frightened of him ("it's the Boogeyman's grandfather!") and Burns forcing his decrepit face to smile only made things worse.
253	* Octus gives his best go at a full grin on ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan''. It's quite off, but he really does mean it.
254	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', Buster and Babs [[BurgerFool are both working at Weenie Burger]]. The whole time, their manager keeps reminding them that they have to smile. During the course of the episode, the smile becomes more and more forced to the point where it's just their mouths stretched wide while showing a lot of teeth, especially since one of their customers is Montana Max.
255	[[/folder]]
256
257	[[folder:Real Life]]
258	* We humans are the only species on Earth who have turned toothed smiling into a sign of joy. If an ape or a monkey grins at you, it is conveying either aggression or submission. When you show your teeth, you are doing what translates as "bare your weapons" in animal language. In fact, this may be why it became a friendly gesture in humans in the first place; when you express friendliness or happiness, you are advertising that you do not want any trouble.
259	* There are several accounts of dog owners getting growled at or attacked by their pets after producing toothed smiles. Dogs are really just defending themselves because they feel threatened upon seeing teeth.
260	** Dalmatians can approximate a smile, usually done so if they know they're in trouble or are just very happy. It looks like a snarl, but they do not show their back teeth, and they're usually wagging their tails.
261	** Most of the retriever-type breeds are capable of smiling (it goes along with the "soft mouth" that's essential for returning a downed game bird to the dog's master undamaged). Labradors and Goldens are particularly known for it.
262	** Some Jack Russell terriers can do it too.
263	** A mutt, half beagle and half schnauzer, may be capable of doing this.
264	** ''Technically'', many canines can "smile" to some degree. What most can't do is produce a "friendly" looking gesture with their teeth close together. Canines have little incentive to open their mouth and not their teeth as well, since constant panting is usually necessary for regulating body temperature.
265	* A "wolf grin" is a wolf's way of showing the observer it does not mean them any (serious) harm, and is so named because to a casual observer, it does not look anything like a grin. Once one has seen a wolf flash its teeth in a truly threatening manner, however, the "wolf grin" becomes a welcome sight. Foxes are also capable of smiling, and in fact look happier when doing so than wolves, since their eyes briefly become slits in a similar manner to a truly happy smiling human. However, a fox smile still happens to make their rather prominent canines visible.
266	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bgnG4Ni9Jo Horses]] can be trained to do this, based on a horse's natural response to help them identify a scent. Some humans can find this a bit disconcerting, however.
267	* Due to the shape of their mouths, [[FriendlyPlayfulDolphin dolphins]] have what looks like a "smile" on their faces regardless of their mood. This "smile" makes it very easy to assume that dolphins are nice and gentle. The truth is that they are not.
268	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TechnicallyASmile