toothsome

English

Etymology

From tooth +‎ -some.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtuθ.səm/, [ˈtuθ.sm̩]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

toothsome (comparative more toothsome, superlative most toothsome)

1. Delicious.

   Synonyms: luscious; see also Thesaurus:delicious

   • 1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, →OCLC:

     "It's a lot nicer than going round by the road; that is so dusty and hot," said Diana practically, peeping into her dinner basket and mentally calculating if the three juicy, toothsome, raspberry tarts reposing there were divided among ten girls, how many bites each girl would have.

   • 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 41:

     ‘I had the happy notion of adding an egg,’ Williams shouted back. ‘It poaches in the soup. Not unlike an Italian stracciatella. Singularly toothsome. […]’

2. (by extension of sense 1, and by analogy to slang tasty) Sexually attractive.

   Synonyms: juicy; see also Thesaurus:sexy

   • 1989, David John Cawdell Irving, Göring: a biography:

     In 1919 he had been waiting at a bus stop, en route to his initiation as a Freemason: a toothsome blonde had crossed his path, and he had stalked off after her instead.

3. Having a pleasing texture when bitten.

   Coordinate terms: al dente, biteable, chewable, chewy

   Once the pasta is firmly al dente (toothsome but not snappy), add it into the pan, with a bunch of cheese, and cook til it all becomes glossy.

   Bagels are fine, but give me a warm bialy any time. With its crisp bits of onion nestled snugly into a golden pillow of toothsome chewiness, this is the ideal substrate for lox and a schmear—or just on its own.

   • 2018 October 1, Francine Segan, edited by Lucy Schaeffer, Pasta Modern: New & Inspired Recipes from Italy‎, ABRAMS, →ISBN:

     CARNEVALE MACCHERONI WITH FIVE HOLES { Maccheroni con cinque buchi } SERVES 4 | REGION: Sicily, especially the Catania province It just wouldn't be Carnevale in Sicily without a plate of this decadently rich pork ragù served on Martedí Grasso, Fat Tuesday. The sauce is flavored with pork rind and, while that's not essential, it is really sinfully delicious. Yes, it's rich, but heck—it's called Fat Tuesday for a reason! This is traditionally served with short, fabulously thick pasta called maccheroni con cinque buchi, which has one large hole in the center and four smaller holes around it. It's very toothsome and pretty, but if you can't find it, you can of course substitute any pasta shape.

4. Showing lots of teeth; toothy.

Translations

delicious — see delicious

sexually attractive

Finnish: hemaiseva (fi)

having a pleasing texture when bitten

Finnish: kovankypsä, al dente (al dente); napakka (fi)

showing lots of teeth — see toothy