slap in the face

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

slap in the face (plural slaps in the face)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see slap,‎ in,‎ the,‎ face. (This sense is a translation hub.)
2. (figuratively) Something unexpectedly said or done which causes shock or offense; an insult, rebuke, or rebuff.

   Synonym: kick in the teeth

   That Joan's ex-boyfriend turned up to the school dance with Mary was a slap in the face for Joan, and now the girls are no longer best friends.

Translations

slap in the face or on the cheek

• Armenian: (dialectal) սիլլա (hy) (silla), ապտակ (hy) (aptak), չափալախ (hy) (čʻapʻalax)
• Catalan: cleca f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 扇耳光 (shān ěrguāng), 掌摑／掌掴 (zh) (zhǎngguāi) (with the palm of the hand)

• Danish: lussing (da) c, ørefigen c
• Dutch: muilpeer (nl), oorvijg (nl)
• Finnish: isku kasvoihin
• French: soufflet (fr) m, gifle (fr) f, claque (fr) f
• Friulian: patàf
• German: Ohrfeige (de) f, Backpfeife (de) f, Watsche (de) f (Bavaria, Austria), Maulschelle (de) f (old-fashioned)

  Alemannic German: Flättere f, Schwinte f, Oorfiige f, Muulschälle f, Watsch m

• Hungarian: pofon (hu), (colloquial) saller (hu), arculcsapás (hu)
• Italian: schiaffo (it) m, sganascione m, sberla (it) f, ceffone (it) m
• Kapampangan: tampal king lupa
• Ladino: chaketon
• Macedonian: шлака́ница f (šlakánica)
• Ngazidja Comorian: mbeye class 9/10
• Norman: cliamuse f, cliaque f
• Persian: سیلی (fa) (sili)
• Polish: policzek (pl) m, liść (pl) m (slang)
• Portuguese: tapa na cara m, tapa no rosto m
• Russian: пощёчина (ru) f (poščóčina), лещ (ru) m (lešč), оплеу́ха (ru) f (opleúxa)
• Serbo-Croatian: šàmar (sh) m
• Spanish: (Latin America) cachetada (es) f, bofetada (es) f, (Spain) torta (es) f, soplamocos, mojicón (es) m (colloquial), pasagonzalo (es) m (rare)
• Swedish: örfil (sv) c
• Tagalog: sampal sa mukha (literally)
• Turkish: sille (tr)

something unexpectedly said or done which causes shock or offense

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大跌眼鏡／大跌眼镜 (zh) (dàdiēyǎnjìng), 出其不意 (zh) (chūqíbùyì)

• Finnish: isku vasten kasvoja
• French: claque (fr) f
• German: Schlag ins Gesicht m
• Hungarian: arculcsapás (hu), pofon (hu)
• Macedonian: шлака́ница f (šlakánica)
• Polish: policzek (pl) m
• Portuguese: balde de água fria (pt) m

See also

• cuff on the ear
• bitch-slap
• pimp-slap

Verb

slap in the face (third-person singular simple present slaps in the face, present participle slapping in the face, simple past and past participle slapped in the face)

1. To insult or offend unnecessarily.
   • 1988 December 18, Jack Ben-Levi, “The Death And Birth Of Families”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 23, page 5:

     With the election of George Bush this country has apparently chosen an answer to the AIDS crisis consisting of the most reactionary social principles. Adding insult to injury, it is a response which makes a show of slapping all marginalized groups in the face.

2. To be or suddenly become bluntly obvious to.