oven
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A great mouth; the old woman would never have looked for her daughter in the oven, had she not been there herself.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “oven” mean?
A great mouth; the old woman would never have looked for her daughter in the oven, had she not been there herself.
Is “oven” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.