Is anyone else here getting long in the tooth?

[LuckyCharms]

I've had this expression repeating in my head all day for some reason. Like a song that gets stuck in your head. I'll tell you something...it starts sounding pretty freakin' weird after a few hours. So try not to think about that expression. OK?

"Long in the tooth"

"Long in the tooth"

"Long in the tooth"

"Long in the tooth"

[Cirque du So-What]

1. It always made me think of rodents

whose teeth grow continuously throughout their life. If they gnaw on things sufficiently abrasive, they won’t get ‘long in the tooth.’ I’m not a rodent, so I never gave it more consideration than is due.

[northoftheborder]

2. I wonder where that expression comes from.

The guys on "A Way With Words" probably could come up with it's history, and what it originally meant!

[LuckyCharms]

8. A horse's gums will recede as they age...

making their teeth appear longer. So "long in the tooth" became an expression that refers to aging.

[Aristus]

10. And that led to "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

If someone gives you a horse, it's rude to check its teeth to see how old it is.

[ailsagirl]

13. Good one, Aristus-- the English language is fascinating!!

Such as giving someone the cold shoulder:

This idiom originated in the early 1800s. It is said that welcome visitors to a house were served a hot meal but someone who was not welcome was given a cold shoulder of whatever meat was being eaten. The shoulder was known to be the coldest and toughest part of the animal and a much inferior meal.

[Aristus]

17. Excellent! I didn't know that one.

[ailsagirl]

19. Enjoy your weekend!

[Rhiannon12866]

20. That's what I thought, it refers to horses, it's a way of determining their age.

[dameatball]

3. Nothing I have is getting longer. I checked.

But yes, I think Groundhogs have to keep gnawing...rodents I guess.

[LuckyCharms]

9. Size doesn't matter...

I hope.

[lunasun]

12. Your life is getting longer. 🤗

[dameatball]

14. Dang right!!!!

[keithbvadu2]

16. Alas! From the background, not the foreground, which is not measurable.

Alas! From the background, not the foreground which is not measurable.

Unless you know your execution date.

[Sanity Claws]

4. I'm not a horse so I won't think about it

I won't think about it.
I won't think about it.

[Binkie The Clown]

5. What teeth? No teeth left to get long. nt

[lastlib]

6. Best advice I can give you:

Go sit in a dark room; sit there, and DON'T think about PINK ELEPHANTS!!

[AJT]

7. As you age your gums recede, elongating your teeth.

[Harker]

11. Mine break and fall out before length

(or receding gums) occur.

Come on. Pull my finger.

[Lars39]

15. Older than my hair, younger than my teeth.

[lillypaddle]

18. As you get older

often times your gums will recede, thereby leaving you long in the tooth.

It's kind of like a tall drink of water, except it isn't.