Modul 5: Idiom 44: Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth

Hi. Let’s take a look at the Idiom, ‘sweet tooth.’ Now I’ve never attempted (tried) to eat a tooth before but I know that it wouldn’t taste sweet. The idiom also doesn’t describe having a tooth made of chocolate. So, what does this idiom mean? To have a ‘sweet tooth’ is to have a love for eating sweet-tasting food, for example, cakes, sweets and chocolates. Now I definitely have a sweet tooth!

So what is the origin of this idiom?

There isn’t much that we know about the origin of this idiom because it dates all the way back to the 1300s. What we do know is that it comes from the word ‘toothsome’ which is a word used to describe *temptingly tasty food. ‘Temptingly tasty’: it’s like when something tasty pulls you into eating it even when you should say no. By adding the word ‘sweet’ to this, you can then describe the *temptation and love of eating something delicious and sweet.

Take a look at our illustration.

What can you see? The lady is pointing to her teeth. There’s something strange about her teeth though. Do you see what’s different? She has a sweet for a tooth. She is showing us her sweet tooth. What is she thinking about? In the thought bubble, we can see lots of chocolates and sweets. She is thinking about sweet treats. The lady loves sweet food so she has a sweet tooth.

Here are some examples before we go to the concept questions…

“Could I have another dessert? I have a big sweet tooth!”

“James doesn’t have a sweet tooth. He won’t touch anything that’s made with sugar.”

“Do you have a sweet tooth? I always see you eating *doughnuts.”

“Kane is the only one in his family with a sweet tooth, so he eats all the sweet treats in the house.”

I used to have a sweet tooth when I was a child, but now I much prefer savoury food (salty food).

Great.

Let’s look at some situations and check your understanding:

1. Antonio takes three sugars in his coffee.  Does he have a sweet tooth?  Yes.  Three sugars would make the coffee far too sweet for many people
2. Faisal never has a dessert.  He prefers savoury food.  Does Faisal have a sweet tooth?  No.  Faisal enjoys the flavours of the main course.
3. Ashley’s favourite drink is hot chocolate. And she loves to have it topped with whipped cream, *marshmallows and *sprinkle sweets.  Does Ashley have a sweet tooth?  Definitely! That would be a very sweet drink.
4. The waiter came to the table with the dessert trolley.
   “Anything here take your fancy sir?” he asked.
   “No, thank you,” said Wesley. “Can I see the cheeseboard please?”
   Does Wesley have a sweet tooth?  No.  He’d much rather have cheese and biscuits than a dessert.
5. Abigail loved going to the seaside, but best of all, she enjoyed going to Morelli’s *Ice Cream parlour where her parents treated her to a triple chocolate chip ice cream.  Does Abigail have a sweet tooth?  Yes.  She loves her ice cream.

Great. Now go and practise. See you soon.