closer shave
- noun
- Many men prefer to shave after a warm shower for a closer shave with less irritation.
Examples
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To avoid cuts, make sure your razor is clean for a comfortable closer shave.
-
Give me a close shave.
Fiction book (1993) -
Using a sharp blade helps achieve a closer shave and leaves your skin feeling smooth.
How Permanent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'closer' is the comparative of 'close' (near/tight to the skin) and 'shave' is the act of removing hair, so it literally denotes a shave that is more close/ thorough. Although 'close shave' can also be an idiom meaning a narrow escape, in the grooming context the meaning is compositional and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the parts.
Etymology
Closer shave comes from the simple image of a razor moving very close to the skin to cut hair very near the surface. Because closer means 'nearer' and shave means cutting hair, it now means 'a shave that removes hair very thoroughly and leaves the skin especially smooth'.