toothie

English

Etymology

From tooth +‎ -ie.

Noun

toothie (plural toothies)

1. Diminutive of tooth.
   • 1871 June, Rosella Rice, “Mr. and Mrs. Kingfisher”, in The Little Corporal, volume XII, number 6, page 197, column 2:

     The patch of closely-shorn sod near their nurseries, on which the toddling, blundering wee ones took the first step in walking, or made the first essay in flying, or cut the first little toothie, may be to them what our old homestead gardens are to us, with their lilac and rose bushes in the corners, or the bed of camomile by the stump, or the weeping willow by the gate.

   • 1942 July 31, “26-5 Tool Bits”, in Fort Wayne Works, volume 25, number 30, Fort Wayne, Ind., page 6, column 4:

     Stewart Baker is much concerned with a swelled up cheek of his. But don’t worry, it’s just a little toothie on the war path.

   • 1978, “The Tooth Fairy (or, The Boys in the Bands)”, in Lou Himmelstein, Steve Norberg, editors, Dentos, Maywood, Ill.: Loyola University School of Dentistry, page 121:

     I had a little toothie / It wasn’t very straight / I took it to my dentist

   • 2006, Andrea D’Allasandra, House of the Screaming Clowns, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 105:

     “There, I got that little toothie! Now, let’s get the rest of ’em.” He repeated this gesture over and over, yanking his right hand back savagely. “Another nice little toothie. I’m gonna get them all out, Edna! You’re gonna feel the pain for each one.” “He thinks he’s still a dentist,” Dr. Mellon explained.

   • 2007, Julia Donaldson, Tyrannosaurus Drip, Macmillan Children’s Books, published 2018, →ISBN, page 11:

     And she sang, “Hatch out, my terrors, with your scaly little tails / And your spiky little toothies and your scary little nails.”

   • 2008, Carrie Friedman, Pregnant Pause: My Journey Through Obnoxious Questions, Baby Lust, Meddling Relatives, and Pre-Partum Depression, Citadel Press, →ISBN, page 140:

     Are your little toothies hurting? She’s teething.

   • 2008, Linda Grant, The Clothes on Their Backs, W F Howes Ltd, →ISBN, page 346:

     But the girl held up the little child. ‘Look at him,’ she said. ‘Look what you’ve been missing. See his little toothie?’ He stared up at me helplessly from the pillow, and knew I could no more save him than I could my uncle.

Related terms

• teethies