muttonchops

Asked to elaborate on his character’s gold tooth and muttonchops that made some fans apoplectic—No, they cried, Heathcliff must be hotter!—his patience seems tested.

“It’s a tradition going back over a century, to when children were invited to search for treats in Chester A. Arthur’s muttonchops.”

Beckerman’s descriptions of the major players are memorable — Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor was “all Irish brogue and ginger muttonchops,” while Futurist ringleader Filippo Marinetti, with his handlebar mustache and bowler hat, resembled “a silent movie villain about to tie a woman to the railroad tracks.”

Others turn side to side, offering profile views: muttonchops, stripes.

“You’s gonna have to say good-bye to the beard and them muttonchops and that’s one sure ’nough impressive moustache you got there, but it’s got to be tamed down some too.