| 释义 |
DictionarySeescarcescarcer
scarcer than hens' teethIncredibly scarce or rare; extremely difficult or impossible to find. Support for the president is scarcer than hens' teeth in this part of the country.See also: scarcer, teeth*scarce as hen's teeth and 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.See also: scarce, teethscarce 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] See also: scarce, teethscarce 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.”See also: scarce, teethscarce 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).See also: scarce, teeth |