twirl vs whirl vs wind

[daemon99]

1) He twirled his moustache up.
2) He curled his moustache up.
3) He wound his moustache up.

Can someone please tell me which of the above sentences are correct? Can someone please tell me the difference between curl, twirl, whirl and wind?

[jlinger]

In mustaches, at least, to twirl means he gave it a twist. You can twirl it out straight, long, if you wished (with some wax, of course).

To curl means he gave it a kind of smile. It wasn't necessarily twisted, just reformed into a C-shape up each side of his face.

You don't wind a moustache however. You can wind a clock, or an electric cord around the base of the iron, for example. To wind something is to continue to wrap it around one solid object (in the case of the clock, you are tightening the mainspring, which is anchored at one point in the centre; you are winding the spring around that single point.

If the mustache were incredibly long, you might wind it around your neck.

In the example below, he clearly twisted it first, to give it stability, and then curved it upwards a bit, just for flair. I personally would indeed wind it around his neck, if I had the chance.

[jlinger]

Oh, and as for Whirl - that's when something spins about a point. A toy top whirls, a Dervish whirls, even a tornado could be said to be whirling wind (that's the other pronunciation of wind, by the way).

[daemon99]

Thanks a lot, jlinger! You have been a great help.