DOWN IN THE MOUTH

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on October 03, 2006

In Reply to: DOWN IN THE MOUTH posted by eileen mckean on October 03, 2006

: Hi, I recently had a salivary gland infection, the left side of my face was swollen (and very painful)my son took a photo of me!!! I sent it to my friend, she wrote back..."it brings a whole new meaning to DOWN IN THE MOUTH" My question is where did the saying come from, I thought perhaps it's an old English saying, when people had their teeth pulled by, perhaps the barber??? There would have been a lot of people with abscesses in the old days. Does anyone know if this is the correct definition of the saying. Many Thanks Eileen

I have always assumed it simply refers to the way the corners of the mouth turn down when one feels glum (and "down in the mouth" does mean "depressed"; it certainly doesn't mean refer to pain of any kind).

• DOWN IN THE MOUTH ESC 03/October/06