baby face

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See also: babyface and baby-face

English[edit]

WOTD – 12 August 2020

Etymology[edit]

American professional wrestler, actor, and presenter John Cena, who adopted the persona of a baby face (sense 3) during his professional wrestling career.

From baby + face.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

baby face (plural baby faces)

  1. A face, often chubby, resembling that of a baby; a youthful face.
    • 1670 November 14 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 4 November 1670]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 432:
      I now also saw that famous beauty, but in my opinion of a childish, simple, and baby face, Mademoiselle Querouaille [Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth], lately Maide of Honr to Madame, and now to be so to ye Queen.
    • 1707, [Joseph Addison], Rosamond. An Opera. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 16:
      My Stomach ſwells with ſecret Spight, / To ſee my fickle, faithleſs Knight, / [...] / On a meer Girl his Thoughts to place, / With dimpl'd Cheeks and baby Face, / A Child! a Chit! that was not born, / When I did Town and Court adorn.
    • 1726, [Jonathan Swift], Cadenus and Vanessa. A Poem, London: […] J. Roberts […], →OCLC, page 249:
      A Baby Face, no Life, no Airs, / But what ſhe learnt at Country Fairs; / Scarce knows what difference is between / Rich Flanders Lace, and Colberteen; [...]
    • 1769, [Henry] Brooke, “XVII [The Three Estates in Parliament.]”, in The Fool of Quality; or, The History of Henry Earl of Moreland, volume IV, London: […] W. Johnston, […], →OCLC, page 237:
      [T]he jolly, broad, fooliſh, humorous, half-laughing, half-crying, baby-face of the Major extorted peals of laughter from all who were preſent.
    • 1834, William Wordsworth, “The Redbreast. (Suggested in a Westmoreland Cottage.)”, in Yarrow Revisited, and Other Poems, London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and Edward Moxon, […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 286:
      Say that the Cherubs carved in stone, / [...] / Used to sing in heavenly tone, / Above and round the sacred places / They guard, with wingèd baby-faces.
    • 1838, L[ydia] H[untley] Sigourney, “Letter IV. First Lessons.”, in Letters to Mothers, Hartford, Conn.: Hudson and Skinner, […], →OCLC, page 38:
      A little boy, who early discovered propensities to cruelty, was so thoroughly weaned from them, by his mother, that when attending to infantine lessons in Natural History, long before he was able to read, and hearing of a bird that was fond of catching flies, he lisped, with a kind of horror upon his baby[-]face, "Oh! kill flies! will God forgive it?"
    • 1849 March, John Oxenford, “Sir Wigolais of the Wheel”, in W[illiam] Harrison Ainsworth, editor, The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, volume LXXXV, number CCCXXXIX, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, chapter I (How Sir Wigolais set out for Corotin, Accompanied by a Sulky Damsel), page 315:
      Now Sir Wigolais was not only very young, but extremely young-looking; he had one of those baby-faces that obstinately refused to look manly at any age, and a chin that seemed destined never to wear a beard.
    • 1856 July, Angeline E. Alexander, “Love and Jealousy”, in Graham’s Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion, volume XLIX, number 1, Philadelphia, Pa.: Watson & Co. […], →OCLC, chapter II, page 51, column 2:
      "Fool!" muttered the first speaker, in a contemptuous tone. "Are you too caught by that baby face, whining voice, and affected manners?"
    • 1897, Joseph Conrad, chapter I, in The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC, page 4:
      Two young giants with smooth, baby faces—two Scandinavians—helped each other to spread their bedding, silent, and smiling placidly at the tempest of good-humoured and meaningless curses.
    • 1926, “Baby Face: Song”, Benny Davis (lyrics), Harry Akst (music), New York, N.Y.: Jerome H[osmer] Remick & Co., →OCLC:
      Baby face, you've got the cutest little baby face / There's not another one could take your place, baby face / [...] / I didn't need a shove, 'cause I just fell in love / With your pretty baby face
    • 1961, Robert A. Heinlein, chapter VI, in Stranger in a Strange Land, New York: Avon, →OCLC, page 43:
      The smooth babyface of the man in the chair broke into a shy smile; he looked at the camera and said, "Hello, folks. Excuse me for sitting down. I'm still weak."
    • 2009, Vicki Grant, “Door Number One”, in Nine Doors (Orca Currents), Victoria, B.C., Custer, Wash.: Orca Book Publishers, →ISBN, page 15:
      Was he joking, or was he really going to do it? You could never tell with Richard. He has one of those baby faces that adults think are so adorable. [...] I wasn't that easily fooled.
    • 2014, Amber Leigh Williams, chapter 2, in Married One Night (Harlequin Super Romance), Don Mills, Ont.: Harlequin Enterprises, →ISBN, page 27:
      Olivia laughed fondly at the baby face of Skeet Bisbee. 'Hey, cutie. I haven't seen you since you left for Tuscaloosa. What are you doing here?'
  2. (often derogatory) A person having such a face, especially a young man having a beardless appearance.
  3. (professional wrestling, slang) A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned.
    Synonyms: blue-eyes, face
    Antonym: heel
    • 1989, Bruce Lincoln, “The Dialectics of Symbolic Inversion”, in Discourse and the Construction of Society: Comparative Studies of Myth, Ritual, and Classification, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part III (Classification), page 158:
      [Jim] Freedman began his analysis by noting two important facts about professional wrestling: First, that heels triumph considerably more often than do babyfaces and, second, that they triumph by different means, relying on secret holds, sly managers, secret weapons, and illegal maneuvers, whereas babyfaces trust to their physical abilities and athletic training alone.
    • 2007, Gary Howard, “Linking the East and the North”, in The Rassler from Renfrew: The History of Northland Wrestling Enterprises (1946–1980) Promoter – Larry Kasaboski, Renfrew, Ont.: General Store Publishing House, →ISBN, page 41:
      And they [wrestling fans] identified with the local farmer Kasaboski, the French-Canadian boys from Montreal, the clean-cut American lads and the handsome, muscular baby faces. At the same time, they jeered the heels, the masked men, the arrogant, bearded Russians and Germans, and the treacherous Japanese. Promoters always played on stereotypes and post-war biases.
    • 2007 October, Dave Batista [i.e., Dave Bautista], with Jeremy Roberts, “Evolution”, in Batista Unleashed, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 127:
      A babyface’s success depends a great deal on the heels he’s facing. It’s all in how you make them look. A good heel will make your babyface look like Superman.

Alternative forms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “baby face, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2011; “baby face, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading[edit]

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