Mek up mi face
Also spelled: mek up mi fyace, mek up me face
Meaning
To screw up or contort one's face in displeasure, disgust, or annoyance — a facial scowl that silently signals disapproval. It describes an expression rather than speaking, and communicates more than words.
Examples
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“When mi hear di price mi jus mek up mi face.”
When I heard the price I just screwed up my face.
Reaction of disgust or disapproval without saying anything.
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“Nuh mek up yuh face pon mi, mi neva do yuh nutten.”
Don't screw up your face at me, I didn't do anything to you.
'pon mi' = at me; 'neva' negates the past.
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“She mek up har face when him walk een.”
She scrunched up her face when he walked in.
'har' replaces 'mi' for third person; shows dislike on sight.
Origin
A calque-style construction from English elements 'make up' plus 'face', but 'mek up' here means to contort/arrange the face rather than apply cosmetics; possibly reinforced by West African expressive gesture idioms.
How it's used
Distinct from English 'make up my face' (applying makeup); in Patois it means pulling a sour expression. The pronoun changes with the subject (mi/yuh/har/him).