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Clara
I have been reading The catcher in the rye recently and I encounter a phrase witch's teat
I'm sort of confused by the expression I mean I know that's a similar phrase with goddamn but I just want to know whether it's widely used..
May 19, 2015 11:03 AM
Answers · 6
1
The full sentence is this:
"Anyway, it was December and all, and it was cold as a witch's teat, especially on top of that stupid hill."
The expression 'as cold as a witch's teat' is a figure of speech, or simile, meaning that it was very cold indeed. It isn't used in everyday English.
May 19, 2015
It is widely used even by people who haven't read "Catcher in the Rye", but I wouldn't use it in polite company. Essentially, because some people take "teat" as a vulgar word.
Many people don't understand this idiom as it relates to the witch trials in the 1600's.
May 19, 2015
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Clara
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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