Help please!

[unfeathered]

Can anyone think of another way of saying leer/smirk/grin? I've got the Master leering and smirking and grinning a lot and I'd like to find some other ways of saying it.

Bloomin' Thesaurus is no help, because it can't think outside the box. I just wondered if any of my real live friends could help! :-)

Comments

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

There aren't a whole lot - especially since they're not completely interchangeable. You can add an 'unpleasant' tag and get there, and there's always sneer - though that's a little different, too. Hopefully someone with a better vocabulary will wander along. Or my brain'll wake up.

[unfeathered]

Hmm, yes 'unpleasant' could work in some cases, and sneer in the same sort.

What he's doing more, though, is less the unpleasant sneering and more "I find you sexy, Jack" (well, who doesn't?) leering.

And I'm definitely painting myself into corners by having the Master tell it himself - if I could just describe what his face actually looks like I could use some other words more easily. John Simm has such a wonderful lot of facial expressions - almost as good as David Tennant! - and I'm trying to get them across without actually physically describing them.

Ah well. I guess I'll just have to try and get it across in other ways.

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

Try this one: Click me. Helps me a lot in fics.

[unfeathered]

Thank you very much - that looks really helpful. I've found a few lines to pursue there which might get me a few more words/phrases.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Not really synonyms.. but the Master could taunt, belittle, scoff, jeer...

[unfeathered]

Thank you - useful words for when he's being nasty.

At the moment, though, he's just appreciating Jack, though, and I'm running out of ways to say it. Guess I'll just have to go through afterwards and whittle some of them out. They're probably not necessary anyway. :-)

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

ahh, I see what you need now. You could use smirk, sneer, leer, etc and also describe the smile in different ways. Something like: Jack see's the Master's cold and calculating smile, The Master's sardonic grin, his malicious smile, etc

[unfeathered]

Thanks - yeah, I'm veering towards smiling/grinning in different ways.

Though as I said to Becky above, I've made it harder for myself by writing it from the Master's POV - because he would be more likely to say "I leer at him" than "I give him a cold and calculating smile" iyswim.

Ah well, I'm getting some more ideas, thanks to you lot. And there's going to be loads of editing needed when I finally get to the end of this chapter anyway, so I can move descriptions round as I need to then!

[unfeathered]

Ooh, actually, 'malicious' is a good word. Thank you!