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scarce as hen's teeth

Idioms

Also, scarcer than hen's teeth. Exceptionally rare, as in On a rainy night, taxis are as scarce as hen's teeth. Since hens have no teeth, this term in effect says that something is so scarce as to be nonexistent. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fortunately, doctors were almost as scarce as hen's teeth.

From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2010

Turkish-language programs are as scarce as hen's teeth on college campuses.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2010

But bargains in wild animals were as scarce as hen's teeth.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cheers are as scarce as hen's teeth, but hisses are as common as chickweed.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Radios, maybe one per hundred thousand residents. No telephones. Newspapers as scarce as hen’s teeth, and a literacy rate made to match. They get their evening news by listening to their neighbors’ drums.”

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023