proverb · Words worth keeping
Who hath aching teeth, hath ill tenants.
Who hath aching teeth, hath ill tenants.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Painful teeth are compared to troublesome tenants: something housed within your own place can become a persistent source of discomfort.
Example
Someone jokes that a repeatedly failing appliance feels like a troublesome resident of their kitchen.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The body is imagined as a house and its teeth as occupants. A tenant who causes trouble cannot simply be ignored, because the trouble is inside the home; the comparison gives toothache the same unwelcome closeness. The saying is a compact complaint about having to live with a source of discomfort. It can also suggest the frustration of a problem that belongs to something otherwise familiar or necessary. It does not explain dental illness or recommend a remedy.
When to use it
Use it as a figurative complaint about an unwelcome problem close at hand.
Keep in mind
The metaphor is not dental advice or evidence that tenants are generally troublesome.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English