What does “mimiques” mean in French?

Les mimiques are the small, often involuntary facial expressions and tics that give a person away — the eyebrow raises, lip movements and pulled faces a camera catches. The word comes from the same root as “mime”: it is communication done with the face. When someone’s mimiques go viral, it is their unguarded expressions, not their words, that everyone is talking about. It pairs closely with grimaces, the more exaggerated, deliberate face-pulling.

French sorts face-pulling finely: faire la moue is to pout, faire la tête is to sulk visibly, and the blunter faire la gueule is to look genuinely annoyed. Mimiques sits above all of these as the neutral umbrella term for someone’s expressive repertoire — the soupirs (sighs) and réactions étranges the clip catches at a state banquet.