Someone who gets old, aged or elderly
Etymology:
- This 19th century phrase originated from horses. As the horses get older, their gums tent to lapse or recede hence making their teeth look fairly long. Off course, the teeth cannot grow longer, it is because of the receding or gap in the gums that make them look so. Veterinarians can tell the age of a horse by counting the teeth that are showing. Likewise, we can apply the phrase to persons or thing, a person getting old can be called he has got “long in the tooth.”
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Submitted on February 25, 2019
Additional definitions for 'Long in the Tooth':
| long in the tooth | Old, aged. |
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"Long in the Tooth." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/long-in-the-tooth_44839>.
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