jowl

Jowls are the fleshy lower parts of the cheeks, especially where they hang along the jaw. In people, they often become more noticeable with age as the skin loses firmness and starts to sag. Think of a basset hound or a bulldog: those loose, drooping folds are classic examples. You will also often see the word in the idiom "cheek by jowl," which means very close together, often in a crowded space.

The word jowl has a rich history, originally referring to the cheek of an animal, particularly pigs. In the culinary world, "pork jowl" remains a specific cut of meat used for making bacon or guanciale. For humans, jowls describe the flesh covering the lower jaw. While often unnoticeable in youth, they become a hallmark of the aging process as collagen and elasticity break down, causing the skin to hang slightly below the jawline.

In descriptive writing, authors use jowls to paint vivid character portraits. A character with "heavy, quivering jowls" might be portrayed as elderly, world-weary, or perhaps as someone who has indulged heavily in life's comforts. For example: "The old man's face was a roadmap of wrinkles, framed by heavy, drooping jowls."

The word is not limited to anatomy. No study of jowl is complete without the phrase "cheek by jowl." It comes from the image of cheeks pressed close together and describes people or things packed side by side, as in "luxury high-rises standing cheek by jowl with crumbling tenements." Whether it points to a facial feature, a cut of meat, or a crowded arrangement, jowl is a vivid and useful word.