| 词汇 | scarce as hen's teeth |
| 释义 | (as) scarce as hens' teethIncredibly scarce or rare; extremely difficult or impossible to find. Support for the candidate is as scarce as hens' teeth in this part of the country. *scarce as hen's teethand scarcer than hen's teethCliché scarce; seldom found. (*Also: as ~.) I do declare, decent people are as scarce as hen's teeth in these chaotic times. Handmade lace is scarcer than hen's teeth; most lace is made by machine. scarce as hen's teethAlso, scarcer than hen's teeth. Exceptionally rare, as in On a rainy night, taxis are as scarce as hen's teeth. Since hens have no teeth, this term in effect says that something is so scarce as to be nonexistent. [Mid-1800s] (as) rare/scarce as hen’s ˈteeth(old-fashioned) extremely rare: Critics always complain that good movies that the whole family can see together are as scarce as hen’s teeth.This refers to the fact that hens do not have teeth. scarce as hen's teethSingularly rare. Also put as scarcer than hen’s teeth, this allusion to nonexistent dentition is an Americanism of the nineteenth century. It appeared in James Gilmore’s My Southern Friends (1863): “Horses are scarcer than hen’s teeth around here.” scarce as hen's teethNonexistent. Hens have no teeth, so what could possibly be scarcer? (Stones in their gizzards act as teeth to grind their food). |
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