Gurn

[1] The English Dialect Dictionary, compiled by Joseph Wright, defines the word gurn as "to snarl as a dog; to look savage; to distort the countenance," while the Oxford English Dictionary suggests the derivation may originally be Scottish, related to grin.

The term gurn may also refer to an involuntary facial muscular contortion experienced as a side-effect of MDMA consumption.

They are held regularly in some villages, with contestants traditionally framing their faces through a horse collar — known as "gurnin' through a braffin".

[5] The origins of the gurning competition itself are unclear, and it may not be so old, although it was described as an ancient tradition by local newspaper The Cumberland Paquet in 1852.

Peter Jackman became England's best-known gurner, winning the world championship four times, beginning in 1998 with a face called the "Bela Lugosi".