noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
armed to the teeth (= carrying a lot of weapons )
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Many of the gangs are armed to the teeth .
baby tooth
bared...teeth
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The dog bared its teeth .
buck teeth
eye tooth
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I’d give my eye teeth to be able to play the piano like that.
false teeth
false teeth/hair/eyelashes etc
lie through your teeth (= say something that is completely untrue )
milk tooth
sank...teeth
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The dog sank its teeth into my arm.
set smile/teeth/jaw
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‘Damn you,’ he said through set teeth.
tooth extracted
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You’ll have to have that tooth extracted .
tooth fairy
tooth powder
tooth/dental decay
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Eating too much sugar causes tooth decay.
wisdom tooth
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
canine
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Most primates, for example, use their canine teeth for fighting.
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Using its long canine teeth , it can neatly nip fins or remove the eyes of its tankmates.
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In an attempt to shake me off, his elbow smashed into my face, breaking my nose and a canine tooth .
clenched
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The sharp hiss of an angry breath drawn through clenched teeth stopped him in his tracks.
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Mention his name to these pre-war survivors and you hear a sound like soup sucked through clenched teeth .
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With clenched teeth , keeping her head low and her eyes half-closed, she hugged the cliff-face and inched her way along.
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Through clenched teeth he hoped so.
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I walked through the dining-room, smiling, my head on one side, humming between clenched teeth .
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The hill where the hare crouched with clenched teeth .
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Barnett exhaled slowly through clenched teeth .
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Dada stood on the steps in the cold, shaking hands, saying something pleasant through clenched teeth .
false
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And she can't be the only young girl in the school with a full set of false teeth .
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Should I have taken the false teeth ?
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He rummaged the bed - another fright, his life was full of them - for his false teeth .
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The officer was city-bred and educated, so that the false teeth appeared to him in a different light.
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This is rather a trivial example: if teeth were the only problem, senescence could be cured by false teeth.
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His lips were intensely smiling and his false teeth shone.
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Talk of false teeth in this setting?
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And indeed his mouth was empty; evidently he had removed his false teeth .
front
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She popped a fragment of biscuit into her mouth and crunched it primly with her front teeth .
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His four front teeth are through and two more in the upper jaw are pressing.
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Once she fell and when he picked her up, her front tooth was broken.
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One of his top front teeth is missing, and there are wide spaces between the others.
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A few years ago he punched me and knocked my front teeth out.
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Mr Hendricks ordered until Billy opened his mouth, revealing the black gap of a missing front tooth .
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A raisin lodged unattractively between Heather's front teeth but I chose not to tell her about it.
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Inman is thin, with a boyish face and a gap between his two front teeth .
gold
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Grover smiled mysteriously, his gold tooth gleaming.
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The taller man with the gold tooth asks Mundin, the only boy here, where his father is.
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He has a big square head, shaven almost bald; lots of gold teeth .
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The man with the gold tooth starts to laugh, cackle really.
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The guy laughed, wide smile dotted with gold teeth .
gritted
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She talks of her own upbringing in the Black Hills through gritted teeth .
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Somehow, with gritted teeth , her soul in torment, she got through the day and the night that followed.
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She'd thrown herself into it with gritted teeth , recklessly taking on more than she could handle.
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I always get one of the class to do the cutting - often with gritted teeth !
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Stop it, stop it! she instructed herself through gritted teeth .
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They were kissing each other through gritted teeth , so the story went.
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Calm down, she told herself, through gritted teeth .
isolated
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The jaws were unrecognizable by this stage, and all the teeth were exposed as isolated teeth.
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Most of these were isolated teeth , although the sample size for isolated teeth was small.
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The results of the analysis in Table 3.9 show that several species have consistent deficits of isolated teeth in their prey assemblages.
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All show the same pattern of generally high proportions of cranial and postcranial elements and low proportions of isolated teeth .
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Table 3.9 Comparison of numbers of isolated teeth in pellet samples with numbers missing from mandibles and maxillae.
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There remain to be considered the three species for which there is an apparent excess of isolated teeth .
long
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A vast pink tongue was hanging out of the creature's mouth between a pair of the longest , sharpest teeth imaginable.
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I opened my eyes and saw a set of long yellow teeth glowing right in front of my face.
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The venom is injected by means of long , hollow teeth called fangs.
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Using its long canine teeth , it can neatly nip fins or remove the eyes of its tankmates.
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A real character, but getting a bit long in the tooth .
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The huge jaws are fifteen feet long and spike-like teeth line the jaws, upper and lower.
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Bigwig's eyes were closed and his lips pulled back from the long front teeth in a fixed snarl.
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DataEase is a worthy contender, although it's a bit long in the tooth .
perfect
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He'd admire his long, blond hair, his bright blue eyes and his perfect white teeth .
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She smiled, showing a mouthful of perfect teeth .
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Harold was flexing his muscles for the perfect balance, teeth bared, knife poised over his head.
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Fifty or sixty perfect , pointed teeth gleamed between his parted lips.
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And even in the young, the children at school, it was rare to see regular perfect teeth .
sharp
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In its great jaws were dozens of sharp and curving teeth .
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A vast pink tongue was hanging out of the creature's mouth between a pair of the longest, sharpest teeth imaginable.
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Combat Bonus A charging war boar is a bad-tempered mound of bloody-minded muscle and bone with pointy tusks and sharp teeth .
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My sharp teeth sink themselves into its nose.
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They opened their mouths to show her sharp tongues and teeth , ready to bite, gobble her up.
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Tom's work mostly involves checking for sharp teeth and rasping them smooth.
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It has relatively large eyes and a small mouth, with small sharp teeth on both upper and lower jaws.
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Unlike most dinosaurs it had sharp teeth with which it ate smaller creatures.
small
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The male person who ordered the others around had a mouth full of small grey teeth .
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Her nose was quite prominent, and her small , even teeth were serrated at the edges.
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The two-lipped flower has two pairs of small teeth on the upper lip.
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It was a dead seal with light tan fur, open eyes, and a set of small , even teeth .
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It has relatively large eyes and a small mouth, with small sharp teeth on both upper and lower jaws.
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The lettuce was cut up into slices and had a mustard with small teeth inside it.
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Both have small , numerous teeth in their upper and lower jaws.
sweet
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What, then, is a melancholic with a sweet tooth to do?
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We have, we are told, a sweet tooth , and we're rather proud of it.
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These people had a vicious sweet tooth .
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Total abstinence from any sweeteners can cure a sweet tooth permanently - which is much better in the long term.
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I also have a very sweet tooth .
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Satisfy your sweet tooth with natural sugar - fructose - from fruit and berries.
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Jake may not have many teeth yet but developing a sweet tooth now could lead to decay later.
white
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His white teeth and brown oval eyes stood out in stark contrast against his dark tanned skin.
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She'd reach out towards them both and put her hands on theirs, smiling with her very white teeth .
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Fedallah Personal Description: Tall, swart, with one white tooth evilly protruding from his steel-like lips.
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Then she opens her pretty red lips and smiles with pretty white teeth .
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Hanging over the sidewalk was a wooden sign with a large white tooth painted on it.
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There was a picture on the page which showed a black man with open eyes and bright white teeth .
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A frond of endive approached his lips, hovered, was gripped firmly by admirably white teeth .
yellow
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With their ragged appearance, long yellow teeth and simple intelligence, they rank quite low on the social register.
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His yellow teeth gleamed in the abundant black of his full beard.
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He had pointed features and protruding yellow teeth .
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I opened my eyes and saw a set of long yellow teeth glowing right in front of my face.
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He worked the snaffle between the p'tar's huge yellow teeth , then hauled to bring the animal out of the stall.
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With his yellow teeth bared, he looked like a cornered man about to break and run.
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He gave us a grin of yellow teeth .
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Yes, it had a mouth full of teeth , yellow , shiny teeth.
■ NOUN
decay
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But half the sugar in the drink came from the milk and was not thought to cause tooth decay .
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Kleinberg says that fluoride, which is in most drinking water and toothpaste, protects against 30 percent of tooth decay .
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In some parts of the country fluoride is added to the water to help prevent tooth decay .
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Some toothpaste manufacturers force feed sweets to monkeys to study tooth decay .
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The advice was not restricted to the prevention of tooth decay .
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Urine was recommended as a mouthwash because its acidity was thought to prevent tooth decay !
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The University of Florida researcher has come up with a brilliantly simple way to tackle tooth decay .
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Professor Keen denied yesterday that natural sugars were a significant cause of tooth decay .
milk
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More than half have dental decay in their milk teeth , and she believes that the problem is increasing.
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In contrast, we evolved a system with a single tooth replacement, of milk teeth by adult teeth.
wisdom
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And you don't get your wisdom teeth until you're eighteen, at least.
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From the way Hanson set his elbows it looked as if it might be a wisdom tooth coming in.
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And carrots which looked like impacted wisdom teeth crossed with a fantasy of Edgar Allan Poe's.
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Of course, it was more than wisdom teeth they were going to be forced to cover.
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The opportunity soon came in the form of James's impacted wisdom teeth .
■ VERB
arm
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Bathore is armed to the teeth , from pistols to anti-tank guns looted from the government.
bare
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He bared his teeth and snarled.
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With his bared teeth and long, drawn face, Gao Ma looked just like his namesake, ma, the horse.
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He went after Isaac just as the crouching figure opened its enormous mouth, baring pointed brownish teeth .
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Spread throughout the pond, seven pale piles of limbs, bared teeth , faces curtained off by their hair.
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And there was Elder Seth, baring his teeth as he pushed her face into the asphalt.
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Chutra hooted, bared his teeth , scratched his ribs.
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He bared his teeth in the kiss and he nipped at her mouth.
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It may cringe away, or if cornered might bare its teeth unexpectedly.
brush
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She brushed her teeth in the bathroom.
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I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth .
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To his horror Henry saw that as he had been brushing her teeth he had started to grip her neck, hard.
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Get up. Brush your teeth , put on your jeans and go to the office.
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Then I brushed my teeth thoroughly with my electric toothbrush.
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Today you will get up, brush your teeth , eat breakfast, go to work.
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Even little boy Isopo brushes his teeth .
chatter
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Can't you hear her teeth chattering in the night?
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She shivered and her teeth chattered .
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My teeth are chattering like mad.
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My teeth were chattering , and the juice from the pear was dripping over my red wool mittens.
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My teeth were still chattering when the phone rang.
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His teeth chattered as he stood in front of the table.
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Doug's teeth begin to chatter .
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Wyatt was there, too, and Cyril as well, their teeth chattering in shock.
clean
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And evidence shows that women feel more inhibited by things like not having cleaned their teeth or feeling grubby.
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Always make sure you clean your teeth properly, using a small-headed brush and only a pea-sized blob of toothpaste.
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It was the water, the other reporters said, but she couldn't clean her teeth in beer.
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How often do you clean your teeth , Miss Harland?
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For the first time in her adult life, Polly went to bed without bathing or cleaning her teeth .
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She looked like a virgin who cleaned her teeth after every meal and delighted to take great bites from rosy apples.
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Back in the en suite bathroom, he briskly cleans his teeth and brushes his hair.
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Only drink bottled water - check the seal hasn't been broken - and use it to clean your teeth .
clench
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He clenched his teeth together but the first syllable forced itself around the corner of his mouth.
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I clenched my teeth , wondering what to do now.
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He clenched his teeth , pulled back his shoulders and began to stride up the road.
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He covered his face, grasped at a stick, a flash of clenched teeth real close before a punch blinded him.
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Jezrael clenched her teeth so hard against the torment that her jaws shuddered, but she didn't cry out.
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I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes as the plane headed straight into very uncertain, very uncharted territory indeed.
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The old man seems to be clenching his teeth .
cut
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He cut his teeth at places like Claridges; the Carlton, Cannes.
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There was considerable sniping from the Congress, particularly from the staffers who cut their eye teeth on Centralism principles.
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The entrepreneurial owner cut his teeth on a Schweizer 300 which he still owns.
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Sutton and Packford both cut their teeth on the old hot-metal newspaper production process.
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She cut her sporting teeth in the marketing department at Sheffield Wednesday.
cutting
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Not the most ceremonious release for a fresh faced coin still cutting its teeth .
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Millennium, which is still cutting its teeth on Tucson stages, is boldly determined to present local audiences with challenging productions.
extract
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Sampling for mammal fossils often involves the patient sieving of great quantities of sediment to extract the fossil teeth .
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Two out of three dentists said they had extracted teeth that they might have filled before the contract was introduced.
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Dentists had no financial incentive to extract teeth , he said.
fight
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Opponents in Parliament, which has to vote on the measure, vowed to fight it tooth and nail.
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He fought tooth and nail for 15 months before going to sleep one final night last week.
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They fought tooth and nail through an initial series of leagues and finished in seven knockout matches.
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I know we doctors have fought you tooth and nail.
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Exceptionally, if a Bill is extremely controversial, the opposition may fight it tooth and nail even at this stage.
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They fought tooth and nail to protect the solicitors' monopoly of conveyancing but eventually compromised by not objecting to licensed conveyancers.
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Mia has hired a top firm of lawyers and will fight the move tooth and nail.
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Legislation aimed at forcing the power firms to clean up their act is being fought tooth and nail by the polluters.
grind
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In a nervous person, grinds teeth .
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It fought back against his grinding teeth .
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Terry ground his teeth in consternation.
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For a while a man ground his teeth horribly, only feet away.
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It's my husband Deardrie - he keeps me awake at night, grinding his teeth !
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Mortally wounded, frothing at the mouth, grinding his teeth in pain, he chose the floor instead.
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I ground my teeth as I watched her crawl back into the machinery.
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His jaw ached and he realised that he was grinding his teeth , so he released the muscles and tried to relax.
grit
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She gritted her teeth and made it to her room in spite of everything.
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And a seizure makes you grit your teeth .
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She wouldn't say anything, vowed Isabel, gritting her teeth against the agonising pain in her side.
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He was gritting his teeth and was nauseated, and his eyes squinted in pain.
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Rory gritted his teeth , pulled.
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Sometimes the best you can do is grit your teeth and remind yourself that this will all seem funny some day.
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He gritted his teeth like a cliff.
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He gritted his teeth , angry at his tongue for having tripped him.
kick
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Graham sitting there waiting for me to kick him in the teeth .
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So they are all there, kicking our teeth in.
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That regulator, James McKinnon, was knighted on 1 January and kicked in the teeth on 15 January.
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If he had come begging and pleading, I would have laughed at him and kicked him in the teeth .
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I couldn't kick him in the teeth after three years of good work and live with myself.
lie
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Thou shalt not lie through thy teeth when in government. 12.
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Even when he's lying through his teeth , he never comes off as unsympathetic.
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He will lie through his teeth , saying anything he needs to get her into bed.
lose
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Now they're losing their teeth .
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She had lost too many teeth .
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Those who have lost their teeth and wear dentures should still visit their dentist every six months.
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His speech had altered as if he had lost his teeth .
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My stomach muscles were up to it, but I didn't want to lose any more teeth .
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I had lost two teeth , one eye was closed, and an ear torn.
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He lost his teeth and taste buds.
nail
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They fought tooth and nail to protect the solicitors' monopoly of conveyancing but eventually compromised by not objecting to licensed conveyancers.
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He would also fight tooth and nail to keep her from the likes of Tommy Allen.
pick
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Woolley picked his teeth with a matchstick.
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He began to pick his teeth with a toothpick.
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They were there at lunchtime and still there in the evening, just reading, picking their teeth , and watching.
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There was a long pause while he picked his teeth and looked down into the seat of his chair.
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He was picking his teeth with a match while some one on the phone talked his ear off.
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Hands to muzzle, he delicately picked his teeth .
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The man sawed very quickly with one hand and picked his teeth with the other hand.
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Well, pop a mint, our friends, head for the hills, and pick your teeth with a mesquite twig.
pull
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He worked the hot ember loose, leaving an empty socket like a pulled tooth .
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You can pull his teeth , smash his kneecaps, hammer nails into him if you like.
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But in fact the very first priority of a nuclear aggressor is to pull the teeth of his adversary.
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If Sagramoso's lackeys had pulled out my teeth , though!
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Our fathers wore out their backs at heavy, senseless labor, pulled their own teeth , lived with massive hemorrhoids.
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After the statement, her lips pulled back over her teeth like a gorilla trying to smile.
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Driving that home ought to be at least as much fun as pulling teeth .
set
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At other times their self-evident frustration sets your teeth on edge.
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She might set her teeth , burst into screams.
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That set our teeth on edge and bring our goose pimples rising like porpoises after mackerel.
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She set her teeth , top on bottom rows a calcium fortress.
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He w as filing arrow heads, and the sound of the metal on the whetstone set Burun's teeth on edge.
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Adam sprang up after her, and Ruth set her teeth and followed, slipping on the wet rock.
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She set her teeth , then, half stooping, sprang towards the next stone.
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On Joanna's instructions I set my teeth resolutely.
show
▪
Especially with that smile of his, that smile that just showed his teeth .
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He opened his eyes wide and showed his teeth .
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And here was Captain jumping out of the back of the car, showing his shark's teeth in a welcoming snarl.
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Because after the Anna Climbie case, the social services wanted to show it does have teeth .
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She would wrinkle her nose, show all her teeth and give a little puff of a snort.
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Perhaps I was showing too many teeth which could make me appear roguish and untrustworthy.
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He smiled without showing his teeth , a rubbery lip-smile.
sink
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I sat on the wheelbarrow and sank my teeth into a fresh loaf.
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They lurk in databases and jump out to sink their teeth in the writer's ankle.
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She gives a brief, cut-off little cry like a chirp as she comes, and sinks her teeth into my shoulder.
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Last winter a judge put a vet away for thirty-five years for sinking his teeth into sweet, succulent coed flesh.
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I grabbed it with my hand and sunk my teeth deep into it.
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Give me something I can sink my teeth into.
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The cat is transfixed by this appealing sight and pounces, sinking its teeth into the prey.
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Forget about sinking your teeth into it; touch it with your tongue, and it evaporates.
smile
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Mr Whistle smiled , teeth cutting his lips.
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His lips were intensely smiling and his false teeth shone.
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Giles was smiling , showing his teeth .
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Miguelito looked across at her and smiled , the white teeth showing in the darkness, even without a spotlight.
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When he smiled his upper teeth settled on his lower lip, and he discharged air between them.
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He stood up when Alexandra came into the bar, held out his hand, smiled , showing beautiful teeth .
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He smiled without showing his teeth , a rubbery lip-smile.
suck
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He sucked his teeth for a minute.
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But he just shook his head, sucked his teeth and shuffled out.
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Denis whisked open the fridge and sucked on his teeth .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a kick in the teeth
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That is why the settlement of 4.4 percent. is rightly described as a kick in the teeth.
by the skin of your teeth
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Jeff just got into college by the skin of his teeth.
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The business is surviving, but only by the skin of its teeth.
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The car broke down on the way to the airport and they just caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.
clean your teeth
▪
Always make sure you clean your teeth properly, using a small-headed brush and only a pea-sized blob of toothpaste.
▪
And evidence shows that women feel more inhibited by things like not having cleaned their teeth or feeling grubby.
▪
Back in the en suite bathroom, he briskly cleans his teeth and brushes his hair.
▪
For the first time in her adult life, Polly went to bed without bathing or cleaning her teeth.
▪
How often do you clean your teeth, Miss Harland?
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Only drink bottled water - check the seal hasn't been broken - and use it to clean your teeth.
▪
She looked like a virgin who cleaned her teeth after every meal and delighted to take great bites from rosy apples.
clench your fists/teeth/jaw etc
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He clenched his fists and remained where he was.
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He clenched his fists even tighter.
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He clenched his fists in frustration and annoyance.
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He clenched his teeth together but the first syllable forced itself around the corner of his mouth.
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He clenched his teeth, pulled back his shoulders and began to stride up the road.
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I clenched my teeth, wondering what to do now.
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Papa clenched his fists and lips in the dark wood.
cut your teeth (on sth)
▪
He cut his teeth at places like Claridges; the Carlton, Cannes.
▪
Sutton and Packford both cut their teeth on the old hot-metal newspaper production process.
▪
The entrepreneurial owner cut his teeth on a Schweizer 300 which he still owns.
fight tooth and nail (for sth)/fight sth tooth and nail
get the bit between your teeth
gnash your teeth
▪
An unlikely assassin was left-winger Jason Wilcox, a youth team star while Dalglish was still gnashing his teeth at Anfield.
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But he has spent three or four years out in the darkness, gnashing his teeth.
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Gacbler and his colleagues would often be stymied by some problem, gnashing their teeth and getting nowhere.
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He kept baring and gnashing his teeth. 21.
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He laid her on the kang, wailing and gnashing his teeth.
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Their heads thrash about on the bloodied floor, gnashing their teeth and foaming at the mouth.
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Then he threw up his hands and wailed and gnashed his teeth, for the world had already touched his father.
go through/over sth with a fine-tooth comb
grind your teeth
▪
traffic problems that make us grind our teeth
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For a while a man ground his teeth horribly, only feet away.
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His jaw ached and he realised that he was grinding his teeth, so he released the muscles and tried to relax.
▪
I ground my teeth as I watched her crawl back into the machinery.
▪
It's my husband Deardrie - he keeps me awake at night, grinding his teeth!
▪
Mortally wounded, frothing at the mouth, grinding his teeth in pain, he chose the floor instead.
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She was grinding her teeth, until the taste of blood made her stop.
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Small Dave ground his teeth and spat into the daylight.
▪
Terry ground his teeth in consternation.
grit your teeth
▪
I guess I'll have to just grit my teeth and wait for things to get better.
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I was desperately unhappy in that job, but had to grit my teeth and stay smiling for the sake of my children.
▪
Rescue workers here have little choice but to grit their teeth and get on with the grim task of recovering the bodies.
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And a seizure makes you grit your teeth.
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He gritted his teeth against the demand of his lungs to burst.
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He gritted his teeth like a cliff.
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I gritted my teeth and went to work.
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Rory gritted his teeth, pulled.
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She continued to grit her teeth in silence.
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She would grit her teeth and take everything he threw at her - for the time being.
have a sweet tooth
▪
Danny's always had a sweet tooth.
▪
If you have a sweet tooth, it is much better to make them part of a meal.
kick sb in the teeth
▪
Graham sitting there waiting for me to kick him in the teeth.
▪
I couldn't kick him in the teeth after three years of good work and live with myself.
▪
If he had come begging and pleading, I would have laughed at him and kicked him in the teeth.
kick sb's head/face/teeth in
▪
But they would kick your head in if you spilt their pint just the same.
▪
It goes with some people wanting to kick my head in.
▪
Lou and Van burst into tears and Hamburglar kicks their heads in.
▪
So they are all there, kicking our teeth in.
long in the tooth
▪
Some of our vehicles are getting a bit long in the tooth.
▪
A real character, but getting a bit long in the tooth.
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Although they were solid and durable, the old machines were getting a bit long in the tooth.
▪
DataEase is a worthy contender, although it's a bit long in the tooth.
▪
It's worth the extra money Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet 840C looks, if anything, a little long in the tooth.
pick your teeth
▪
Hands to muzzle, he delicately picked his teeth.
▪
He began to pick his teeth with a toothpick.
▪
He was picking his teeth with a match while some one on the phone talked his ear off.
▪
The man sawed very quickly with one hand and picked his teeth with the other hand.
▪
There was a long pause while he picked his teeth and looked down into the seat of his chair.
▪
They were there at lunchtime and still there in the evening, just reading, picking their teeth, and watching.
▪
Well, pop a mint, our friends, head for the hills, and pick your teeth with a mesquite twig.
▪
Woolley picked his teeth with a matchstick.
sb would give their eye teeth for sth
sth is like pulling teeth
▪
Getting the kids to do their homework was like pulling teeth.
the tooth fairy
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Brush your teeth twice a day.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Brush your teeth, put on your jeans and go to the office.
▪
Even sociology, it turns out, can be red in tooth and claw.
▪
He retrieved his birds, the globe, the teeth, a few books.
▪
The chimpanzee then pulls out the grass stem and picks off the termites with its teeth, smacking its lips with pleasure.
▪
Their immediate diagnosis was that the patient had swallowed her false teeth.
▪
We were both the sort of people who just can't let go once they have got their teeth into something.
▪
With clenched teeth, keeping her head low and her eyes half-closed, she hugged the cliff-face and inched her way along.