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Glite Dictionary
with a toothcomb

with a toothcomb

7.6
To do something very carefully and check every small detail
  • idiom
translation icon : con lupa
  • The editor went over the manuscript with a toothcomb before publication.

Examples

  • The accountant reviewed the financial statements with a toothcomb to catch any errors.

  • They searched the old attic with a toothcomb for lost family heirlooms.

  • Check it with a toothcomb!

  • I will look with a toothcomb.

  • The editor went over the manuscript with a toothcomb before publication.

  • The accountant reviewed the financial statements with a toothcomb to catch any errors.

  • They searched the old attic with a toothcomb for lost family heirlooms.

Synonyms

meticulously
vswith a toothcomb
32 8.3

With great care and close attention to small details

emphasizes complete attention to every element rather than only precision
painstakingly
vswith a toothcomb
20 6.0

With great care and attention to small details

focuses on careful, complete attention rather than the effort involved
with a fine-tooth comb
vswith a toothcomb
6 4.2

Look through something very carefully to find small mistakes

is the broader phrase for doing work with complete careful attention
assiduously
vswith a toothcomb
5 7.7

To do something carefully and with steady effort

is about careful attention to detail rather than long sustained effort
minutely
vswith a toothcomb
  • Formal
4 6.3

Describe or record something with great care for small details

means overall thorough attention rather than examining only tiny parts
fastidiously
vswith a toothcomb
2 7.7

In a careful way that pays attention to small details and keeps things clean

is about full detail focus rather than a tidy or clean concern

Antonyms

carelessly
20 1.0

In a way that you do something without thinking or paying attention

sloppily
5 2.9

In a careless, untidy way that makes things messy

How Thoroughly

with a toothcomb
7.6
thoroughly
259 3.5
carefully
978 1.0
superficially
14 5.3

Surface Forms

with a toothcomb positive

Morphology

with + a + toothcomb

The idea of combing with a closely spaced (tooth) comb evokes a meticulous searching action, so there is a clear metaphorical link between the constituents and the idiomatic meaning. However, 'toothcomb' (or the collocation 'fine-tooth comb') is a less transparent compound and the required collocational/metaphorical inference is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the literal words.

Etymology

The idiom with a toothcomb may come from a very small comb called a toothcomb, a comb with fine teeth used to pick out tiny things like lice. So when someone searches 'with a toothcomb', they check every little place and mean 'very thorough'.