Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2023 December 8

= December 8 =

"Let me just put my teeth back in"
This phrase is commonplace in the UK when someone becomes tongue-tied or trips over their words. Presumably it originated when full sets of dentures were widely used. Is this idiom also used in other English-speaking countries, especially the US? Thank you. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 10:20, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I never heard this phrase.  Google has no knowledge of it. 2A00:23C7:9CD1:3901:7762:1B1D:468A:BF09 (talk) 12:15, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * That's slightly surprising. I'm sure there are many variants, e.g. "I'll try and say that again with my teeth in." I've heard all ages of people using it, not just those in the denture-wearing generation. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 12:24, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Needn't necessarily have been coined by someone actually wearing dentures. Sounds like British irony. Then, I find the phrase "foot-in-mouth disease" even weirder, anyway. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 12:47, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Not quite unknown to Google; I found a British instructional book, Smart Skills: Presentations by Frances Kay:
 * If you sto dumble (sic), then try not to flap. We all do it and audiences understand. Take a moment, perhaps make an aside as well as pause - "Let me put my teeth back in" – and say again whatever made you stumble and was unclear.
 * Alansplodge (talk) 13:22, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, as an elderly Brit I can confirm that this (and trivial variants) have long been a commonly used humorous aside. Since it only applies when someone is speaking, it's not surprising that it's rarely written down: I suspect instances of it being used in, say, a novel's dialogue are swamped on Google by dentistry references. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.199.215.44 (talk) 14:24, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I've never heard of it, but it makes sense it would be less common in the US. According to | this article, one in five adults in Britain wear dentures. | The first Google result suggests maybe 12 percent of Americans have dentures, so it makes sense that the saying would be more common there. 71.112.180.130 (talk) 16:02, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Although no real false teeth are required; I imagine that those actually wearing dentures are unlikely to use this phrase. It may be a reflection of the British fondness for self-deprecation; perhaps in other cultures not many people would pretend to have false teeth when they really haven't. Alansplodge (talk) 22:52, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Real false teeth? As opposed to false real teeth? DuncanHill (talk) 23:26, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * As opposed to the proverbial false teeth mentioned in the idiom. Alansplodge (talk) 11:49, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * 153 Proverbs about Teeth, but no false ones. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:54, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Ah, I was using "proverbial" in an idiomatic sense (note to self - when you're in a hole, stop digging - no actual hole required). Alansplodge (talk) 13:44, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * You can get fillings you know! Or maybe you fancy a holiday in Turkey?? lol Martinevans123 (talk) 14:06, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * 2A00:23C7:9CD1:3901:7762:1B1D:468A:BF09, maybe we're using different Googles. I found:
 * * 4 google hits for "Let me just put my teeth back in"
 * * 311 for "Let me put my teeth back in"
 * * 328 for "Let me put my teeth back". -- Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  17:15, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Google results vary enormously, depending on location, previous searches, and what search results you have previously clicked on. There may well be other factors. DuncanHill (talk) 23:23, 8 December 2023 (UTC)