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long in the tooth. phrase. If you describe someone as long in the tooth, you are saying unkindly or humorously that they are old or getting old. [informal, disapproval]
If you describe someone or something as long in the tooth, you mean that they are getting old, often too old for a particular activity or purpose. I'm a bit long in the tooth to start being a student. Their cars are looking rather long in the tooth, with the last model launched over 10 years ago.
be long in the tooth. idiom informal. Add to word list. to be old, often too old to do something: He's a little long in the tooth to be wearing shorts, don't you think? SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Describing people who are old. advanced. advancing.
a. of a speech sound : having a relatively long duration. b. : being the member of a pair of similarly spelled vowel or vowel-containing sounds that is descended from a vowel long in duration. long a in fate. long i in sign. c of a syllable in prosody. (1) : of relatively extended duration.
Old, especially of horses or people. What's the origin of the phrase 'Long in the tooth'? Horses’s teeth, unlike humans’, continue to grow with age. They also wear down with use, but the changes in the characteristics of the teeth over time make it possible to make a rough estimate of a horse’s age by examining them.
be long in the tooth. idiom informal. Add to word list. to be old, often too old to do something: He's a little long in the tooth to be wearing shorts, don't you think? SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Describing people who are old. advanced. advancing.
Examples. They say sixty is the new forty, but it still sounds pretty long in the tooth to me. Where did it originate? Britain, 19th century. Where is it used? Worldwide.
BE LONG IN THE TOOTH definition: to be getting old | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples.
Long of tooth Meaning of Idiom ‘Long in the Tooth’ To be long in the tooth means to be rather old; quite old; getting on in years; (sometimes) too old (for something).
Getting on in years, old, as in Aunt Aggie's a little long in the tooth to be helping us move . This expression alludes to a horse's gums receding with age and making the teeth appear longer. [Mid-1800s] Discover More.
