hound's tooth

¹ American  

noun

1. a pattern of broken or jagged checks, used on a variety of fabrics.

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hound's-tooth ² American  

[houndz-tooth] / ˈhaʊndzˌtuθ /

adjective

1. woven or printed with a pattern of broken or jagged checks.

   a hound's-tooth jacket.

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Etymology

Origin of hound's tooth¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Origin of hound's-tooth²

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

To earn it the investigators must appear every day to be clean as a hound’s tooth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2017

Said one retail store manager: "Our stocks are as clean as a hound's tooth."

From Time Magazine Archive

Ike was at first undecided about whether or not to drop his running mate and told reporters that anyone on his ticket would have to prove himself "clean as a hound's tooth."

From Time Magazine Archive

Preferring hound's tooth jackets and mixed tweeds to ambassadorial tails, he would sooner talk on Scottish wild flowers and Chinese porcelains than on politics and policies.

From Time Magazine Archive

As I said a few minutes ago, it's as clean as a hound's tooth.

From The Honorable Senator Sage-Brush by Lynde, Francis