A typically Northern Irish expression also spoken as "face as long as a Lurgan spade" meaning to look miserable or long faced.
One theory about the origin of this expression is that a “Lurgan spade” was an under-paid workman digging what is now the Lurgan Park lake. Another theory is that it is a translation from the Irish language lorga spád meaning the shaft/shin of a spade.
Upon observation you would say...
Usually in mountain gorillas, when groups come across each other in the forest, the male-male interactions are quite aggressive, involving chest-beating displays and sometimes even physical violence. Similarly, in Ireland, as a particular species of males, generally known as skangers, pass each other they display similar aggressive actions. These actions are known as throwing shapes and can involve head movements, fist movements and strange methods of walking.
