gnash one's teeth



gnash one's teeth

Express a strong emotion, usually rage, as in When Jonah found out he was not going to be promoted, he gnashed his teeth. This expression is actually redundant, since gnash means "to strike the teeth together." Edmund Spenser used it in The Faerie Queene (1590): "And both did gnash their teeth." [Late 1500s]
See also: gnash, teeth

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Nenad-Serbian, Croatian
Justice['dʒʌstis]
BoŘIvoj-Czech
Fedotfye-DOT, fee-DOTRussian
Xene-Greek
Masego-Southern African, Tswana