tooth and egg
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
An obsolete corruption of tutenag (from Arab, tutiyd), an alloy rich in zinc, coming from China and the East Indies and largely used for lining tea-chests.
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 “tooth and egg” mean?
An obsolete corruption of tutenag (from Arab, tutiyd), an alloy rich in zinc, coming from China and the East Indies and largely used for lining tea-chests.
Is “tooth and egg” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.