2006-10-17 08:57:08 · 5 answers · asked by zaphiro z 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
I think you're asking about "long in the tooth", and I believe it comes back to how animals age. As they get older, thier teeth get longer... that's how vets know how old they are. People don't actually get longer teeth as they age....but the phrase is applied to people who are getting old or things that are looking old.
2006-10-17 09:12:40 · answer #1 · answered by Liz 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh, I know this one! I picked up a kids book a month ago called, "How old is that horse?" Or something, and it described how the different teeth grow in, discolor, and etc. for each year of the things life. So, you can peek in it's mouth and see how old it is. Once it's like 18 years old or so, (old for horsies) their final teeth just keep on growing, and depending on the length of those teeth, you can tell that this is one ancient horse. So it's then applied to anyone who's gettin' really old.
2006-10-17 09:56:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It refers to gums receding as a horse ages. Well, people's gums can recede, too. But people's teeth usually get shorter as they age because they get ground down. The teeth. I don't know if the people get ground down.
Anyway, the horse's teeth look really long when it gets old because its gums recede so far up in its mouth. So if it has "long teeth", then it's old.
2006-10-17 12:34:12 · answer #3 · answered by SlowClap 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It deals with how old a horse is. You tell a horse's age by looking at their teeth. The longer they are the older they are.
2006-10-20 00:20:12 · answer #4 · answered by greylady 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
horses
2006-10-19 12:06:37 · answer #5 · answered by jyd9999 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋