Word.ws English Dictionary

moustache-twirling

moustache-twirling noun: behavior associated with villainy.

Noun

moustache-twirling (plural moustache-twirlings)

  1. (colloquial, figuratively) Behavior associated with villainy.
    • Now, Walter Huston is not of the eyebrow-waving school of cinema actors. He does not go in for moustache-twirling nor nostril-quivering. His is a strong, forceful character. He is not a magazine-cover lad.1937 February, American Society of Cinematographers, Inc., American Cinematographer (Feb 1937)
    • And during the final story of the season, The Ultimate Foe, talk about hand-wringing, moustache-twirling, melodramatic villain laughs!1987 August, Doctor Who Magazines
  2. (literal) An instance of twirling one's moustache.

Examples of moustache-twirling in a sentence

  • All promise paradise in day-to-day bookkeeping and vow to keep you on the right side ol that moustache-twirling Revenue Canada.1997 March, Douglas Alder, Computer Player!:
  • In Lost and Saved, Beatrice Brooke elopes with dastardly, moustache-twirling Montagu Treherne.2017, Samantha Ellis, Take Courage : Anne Brontë and the Art of Life:

Forms of moustache-twirling

pluralmoustache-twirlings
alternative formmustache twirling
alternative formmustache-twirling
alternative formmoustache twirling

Origin of moustache-twirling

The act being a visual trope in film parodies of villains from 19th century melodrama.

Questions about moustache-twirling

What does moustache-twirling mean?
Moustache-twirling means behavior associated with villainy.
How do you use moustache-twirling in a sentence?
All promise paradise in day-to-day bookkeeping and vow to keep you on the right side ol that moustache-twirling Revenue Canada.
What part of speech is moustache-twirling?
Moustache-twirling is a noun.
What is the plural of moustache-twirling?
The plural of moustache-twirling is moustache-twirlings.

Words near moustache-twirling in the dictionary

  1. Moustache Pete
  2. Moustache Petes
  3. moustache ride
  4. moustache rides
  5. moustache twirling
  6. moustache-twirling
  7. moustached
  8. moustached kingfisher
  9. moustached kingfishers
  10. moustached warbler
  11. moustached warblers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: moustache-twirling (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-moustache-twirling.wav.

Cite this entry: “moustache-twirling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/moustache-twirling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.