cheek by jowl

1. Situated side by side or in close contact: “The commuters were packed in the subway cheek by jowl.”

Idioms and Phrases

Side by side, close together, as in In that crowded subway car we stood cheek by jowl, virtually holding one another up. This term dates from the 16th century, when it replaced cheek by cheek.

Example Sentences

Juxtapositions between high and low, between the virtuous and the criminal, and these things existed cheek by jowl.

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Staff and residents sat cheek by jowl chatting to each other.

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Ruoff’s team has already used it to make diamond films composed of thousands of tiny crystals packed cheek by jowl.

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The threat to residents is magnified by the particular geography of Khartoum - its key strategic installations, which are being targeted, sit cheek by jowl with residential areas.

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“The houses are crammed in there, cheek by jowl,” he added.

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