to cast in one's teeth

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To throw reproof at one. The allusion is to knocking one's teeth out by stones.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “to cast in one's teeth” mean?

To throw reproof at one. The allusion is to knocking one's teeth out by stones.

Is “to cast in one's teeth” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.