E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Hare-lip.
A cleft lip; so called from its resemblance to the upper lip of a hare. It was said to be the mischievous act of an elf or malicious fairy.
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“This is the foul flend Flibbertigibbet. He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. He … . squints the eye and makes the hare-lip.”—Shakespeare: King Lear, iii. 4.
