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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010Morrison: to suck teeth
Hello: What's the meaning of "to suck teeth?" Is it to say "ts, tsk?" Seems old, even in Shakespeare. --- [Guitar, a black man, wants to carry revenge against the whites. He can't stay put when lynching and other crimes are committed against blacks:] "I can't suck my teeth and say 'Eh, eh, eh.' I had to do something." Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 154 --- -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Is it to say >"ts, tsk?" No quite. With "tsk, tsk" air moves out of the mouth. With "sucking teeth" the teeth are put together and air is drawn into the mouth. There is a similar action, with a similar meaning, in which the lips are pursed and air is sucked in. That is less exaggerated than a "sharp intake of breath". >Seems old, even in Shakespeare. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 154 >---  SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) On Jan 16, 6:43 am, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> wrote: > >What's the meaning of > >"to suck teeth?" [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, p. 154 > >--- Still, what would the meaning of it? Thanks. Marius Hancu >On Jan 16, 6:43 am, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> >wrote: [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > >Still, what would the meaning of it? It would be an expression of disapproval. It would be the sort of comment that is detached and not intended to change things. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >>Still, what would the meaning of it? >> > It would be an expression of disapproval. It would be the sort of > comment that is detached and not intended to change things. I particularly agree with the second part of Peter's analysis - not necessarily with the first part. To me, the expression conveys the idea of standing by in disbelief, waiting for something to happen (to somebody else). So it is not dissimilar to a shaking of the head over someone's behaviour, and therefore might be summed up by the expression "are you sure you know what you're doing?". Disapproval might be there, but it might also merely be "so-and-so is cruisin' for a bruisin' if he carries on behaving like that". Regards Jonathan >>Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > No quite. With "tsk, tsk" air moves out of the mouth. With "sucking > teeth" the teeth are put together and air is drawn into the mouth. If you mean actually saying /tIsk/, that's a spelling pronunciation. "Tsk" was originally used to spell the dental click used to expressed disaproval, with the tip of the tongue placed behind the upper teeth, air sucked back behind the tongue to create a pressure differential, and sound made when air is drawn into the mouth when the closure is released. I'd take "sucking one's teeth" to describe this. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |First Law of Anthropology: 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 | If they're doing something you Palo Alto, CA 94304 | don't understand, it's either an | isolated lunatic, a religious kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | ritual, or art. (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >>Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >pursed and air is sucked in. That is less exaggerated than a "sharp >intake of breath". When I lived in London, many of the Black people I knew had a teeth-sucking sound they used for exasperation, annoyance and so on. I was never able to produce the sound myself, neither could most of the white people I knew. Oooh, here's a lovely little write-up about it, with a sound-clip too: http://www.jamaican-slang.com/2009/07/05/kiss-teeth-why-do-jamaicans-do-that/ >>>Hello: >>> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >was never able to produce the sound myself, neither could most of the >white people I knew. African-Americans in Washington, D.C. hissed when annoyed, when I lived in the area, back in the sixties and seventies. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE |
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