long in the tooth
English
WOTD – 17 September 2010
Etymology
Possibly from the practice of examining the length of horses’ teeth when estimating their ages: an old horse has long, rectangular incisors, and their occlusion angle is steep. Compare don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Pronunciation
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Adjective
long in the tooth
- (idiomatic) Old, aged.
- 1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., ch. 2,
- His cousin was now of more than middle age. . . . She was lean, and yellow, and long in the tooth.
- 2004, Chris Taylor, "Is Microsoft A Slowpoke?," Time, 10 May,
- So as Microsoft began its 30th year last month, investors wondered whether it's a little long in the tooth.
- 1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., ch. 2,
Related terms
- don't look a gift horse in the mouth
Translations
old, aged
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