If the wind changes...

[robssk8angel]

Why do people ay if you pull a face 'If the wind changes it'll stay like that?'

[LordAlmighty]

I think mums used to say that to stop their kids pulling faces.

[Quizmonster]

An old wives' tale, of course, so the reason for it is lost in the mists of time. But here's a guess as to where it came from.

Of all the natural factors affecting human lives - particularly in bygone centuries when people were far closer to nature - the most changeable is/was probably the wind. One day a gentle sou'-westerly zephyr and the next a raging nor'-easterly hurricane, it was continuously altering in force and direction.

Adults have always disapproved of children's 'pulled faces' and a threat that such a distortion would last forever - if the wind changed - would have been particularly effective, given that children knew the wind was always changing. That is: "You'd better stop that now!"

[doristwonk]

I think the saying may refer to 'internal' wind. Quite often when that attempts to become external it can cause some grimacing.