Who hath aching teeth, hath ill tenants.
Who hath aching teeth, hath ill tenants.
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.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-04. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 4 · Aching teeth
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗