Crack their cheeks

Posted by All on October 15, 2008 at 11:43

I don't understand what "crack their cheeks" means in the following sentence, taken from an article published in The Economist : "And since neither of them is a fool, both crack their cheeks trying to sound sympathetic."

• Crack their cheeks Smokey Stover 15/October/08
  • Crack their cheeks Cliff Bowman 15/October/08
    • Crack their cheeks Cliff Bowman 15/October/08