comb test

English

Noun

comb test (plural comb tests)

1. (endocrinology) A test for whether a substance should be considered a male sex hormone.

   Synonym: cock's comb test

   • 1994, Nelly Oudshoorn, Beyond the Natural Body: An Archeology of Sex Hormones‎, e-book edition, Routledge, published 2005, →ISBN, page 48:

     In addition to the comb test, physiologists applied assays based on changes in fat deposits, body length and weight, and hair growth, in rats and guinea-pigs.

2. (historical) A method of determining racial identity, based on how easily a comb passes through a person's hair.

   Synonym: fine-tooth comb test

   • 2002 February, Don Spears, Playing for Keeps‎, Los Angeles: Milligan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 183:

     "How'd your in-laws feel about you marryin' your wife? Maybe you could pass the paper bag test and the comb test, but your old man had dark skin, kinky hair, and he was a dyed-in-wool bapistst from out in the sticks."

See also

• pencil test (method of determining racial identity)