mug shot

mug shot

1. An official photograph taken of someone being brought into police custody, usually characterized by the person wearing a grim or blank expression on their face. The celebrity's unflattering mug shot quickly spread across the Internet overnight following his DUI arrest. I actually managed to make a really goofy face while the cops took my mug shot, which pissed them off to no end.
2. Any portrait or photograph that resembles such a picture. I hate getting my mug shot taken at the DMV for my license—I always look terrible! Wow, nice mug shot! Couldn't smile for the camera, could you?
See also: mug, shot
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

mug shot

n. a photograph of one’s face taken for police records. (Underworld.) I’m going to have to ask you to come down to the station and go through some mug shots.
See also: mug, shot
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • take a picture
  • take a picture (of someone or something)
  • take pictures
  • a blank check
  • blank check
  • poker face
  • poker face, a
  • cheque
  • a blank cheque
  • fill in the blank(s)
References in periodicals archive
Last month, when Allen's attorney discovered his client's mug shot had been digitally manipulated before it was added to a lineup, he filed a motion to have the evidence thrown out of court.
Police digitally alter mugshot after witnesses said a bank robber had no facial
And when former Republican congressman from Texas, Tom DeLay, was charged with conspiracy and money laundering, his mug shot showed a man wearing a suit and tie and the practised grin of a backslapping politician.
That Chris Brown police mug shot: There's nothing there
The mug shot above features Francois Bertillon who happens to be the son of the developer of this technique.
Past in Perspective
Anonymous has insisted Bland was dead at the time her mug shot was taken, a belief apparently shared by members of the public who have taken to social media since Bland's body was discovered.
Besieged County Officials Release More Tapes
ut Meek's wife, according to her friend Simone Johnson, is not happy with the attention her husband's mug shot has gathered.
Move over selfies, bring on mug shots
That is one good looking mug shot!" one person wrote.
'Handsome' mug shot goes viral on social media
Police records show Crogan was never convicted of any crime in connection with the purported 1996 mug shot.
Mayor uses Facebook page to convict Crogan prior to trial
Arrest records and police mug shots have long been available to the public, open to inspection in file cabinets at police departments or law enforcement agencies across the country.
Focusing on mug shot websites
MasterCard went so far as to cancel all accounts with the largest mug shot website companies.
5 notable GCs in the news
(9.) Debbie Elliott, The Newest Magazine Fad: The Mug Shot Tabloid, NAT'L PUB.
The mugshot industry: freedom of speech, rights of publicity, and the controversy sparked by an unusual new type of business
The problem was that mug shots posted on the website of the Lane County Sheriff's Office included people who worked off court fines on the work crew, even though they were never actually housed in the jail.
Action on mug shots picture of cooperation
The picture, one of several discovered in a police book of 1930s mug shots which were found in a junk shop, was published by Tyne and Wear Archives.
Sad life of my uncle, thief in mug shot; Nephew's tale of woe
"When you see a mug shot, you automatically think the person is guilty of something, when actually the mug shot is taken at the time of arrest when someone may not have done something.
Indicted executive's mug shots are exempt from FOIA
"Using a database of more than 10,000 mug shot photos, 45 percent of the time we had the correct person."
To catch a thief
Summary: A wanted British man sent a newspaper his photo because he disliked the mug shot the police issued.
How do I look?