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Glite Dictionary
metal mouth

metal mouth

1 7.7
A person whose teeth have visible metal braces
  • noun
  • Offensive
translation icon : persona con aparato dental (insulto)
  • Guys don't wanna jump your bones when you're a metal-mouth.

Examples

  • She often feels self-conscious about her smile, especially since everyone calls her metal mouth at school.

  • Daily, I heard such cruel remarks as four-eyes, metal mouth, nerd, and teacher's pet from the other kids.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Growing up, he hated being teased as metal mouth because of his braces.

  • During the school play, he overheard someone refer to his friend as metal mouth because of her shiny dental appliances.

Synonyms

braceface
vsmetal mouth
  • Offensive
9.4

A person who wears metal braces on their teeth

is a general informal label for someone who has visible metal dental appliances

Surface Forms

metal mouth singular
metal mouths plural

Morphology

metal + mouth

The noun compound combines 'metal' + 'mouth' in a literal, descriptive way to mean a mouth that has metal in or on it (e.g., braces). Although informal and slightly pejorative slang, the meaning is compositionally transparent and a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it without prior exposure.

Etymology

Metal mouth is a nickname that comes from the clear image of metal showing on a person's teeth: metal on the mouth. That's why it now means 'a person who wears braces'.