• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the expression “as scarce as hen’s teeth” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the expression “as scarce as hen’s teeth” come from and What does it mean?

April 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

No one has ever yet found teeth in a hen, nor is likely to.

So the expression “as scarce as hen’s teeth” is just another example (American) of exaggerated statement not intended to be taken literally, to impress the listener with the fact that the item under discussion, whatever it may be, does not exist, rarely occurs, or is rarely to be found.

Thus one might say, “Elephants in Greenland are scarcer than hen’s teeth,” meaning that elephants are not to be found in Greenland.

Just when this hyperbole first appeared has not yet been determined.

The Dictionary of Americanisms reports its use by “Edmund Kirke,” pen name of James R. Gilmore, in My Southern Friends (1862).

But because this metaphor is thoroughly familiar in all parts of the country, there’s good reason to believe that it may actually have had word-of-mouth use from colonial days.

Related Facts

  • Where does the expression "till the cows come home" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out flat footed" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out at the little end of the horn" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "come off your perch" come from and What does it mean?
  • What does the expression "to get one's come uppance" mean and Where does it come from?
  • Where does the expression "to be ahead of the game" come from and What does to come out ahead mean?
  • What Does the Expression "Until the Cows Come Home" Mean and Where Did the Phrase Come From?
  • Where does the expression "Darby and Joan" come from and What does Darby and Joan mean?
  • Where does the phrase "to rain cats and dogs" come from and What does the expression mean?
  • Where does the expression "to blow hot and cold" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to steer between Scylla and Charybdis" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "through thick and thin" come from and What does it mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What does the phrase “a sop to Cerberus” mean and Where does it come from?
Next Post: What does the phrase “come hell or high water” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy