long in the tooth

1. Getting on in years, old, as in Aunt Aggie's a little long in the tooth to be helping us move. This expression alludes to a horse's gums receding with age and making the teeth appear longer. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

“The metal’s been overextended and long in the tooth for weeks, so some profit-taking or even a shakeout like this can help to clear out the tourists before a potential next leg higher,” said Koos.

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Instead a tricky pitch, smart bowling from an Australian attack long in the tooth, and the odd daft shot proved to be West Indies' undoing.

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But it is equally plausible that like so many friendships that have grown long in the tooth, they had become fed up with fighting the old battles, that they had developed new and more fulfilling relationships with their young families.

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"I hope this the Sky series will do that because I'm getting pretty long in the tooth and I can't go on doing this forever."

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Let’s just say there’s a lot of Murphy programming on television these days, and the majority of the series are long-winded, long-running or just plain long in the tooth.

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