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A grotesque mask, representing a person chewing or grimacing, worn in processions and by comic actors on the stage.

ous insects of the genus Mantis, and allied genera. They are remarkable for their slender grotesque forms, and for holding their stout anterior legs in a manner suggesting hands folded in prayer. The common American species is M. Carolina. Mantis shrimp. (Zoöl.) See Sguilla.

A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like; -- called also mascaron.

To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner. To monkey with, to handle in a meddlesome manner. [Colloq.]

common in England, often performed in pagenats, processions, and May games. The dancers, grotesquely dressed and ornamented, took the parts of Robin Hood, Maidmarian, and other fictious characters.

-- Pigeon English Etym: [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindoostanee. Johnson's Cyc. -- Pigeon…

r notice. The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets. Macaulay.

ucculent plants without leaves, frequently covered with dark tubercles giving them a very grotesque appearance. The odor of the blossoms is like that of carrion.

A mask; a visor. [Archaic] "A grotesque vizard." Sir W. Scott. To mislead and betray them under the vizard of law. Milton.