I often wonder about lost semiotic meanings. Indeed I am thinking of doing a series of postings on just that. One thing that struck me recently, after thinking a bit about age and people getting older in general, is how even sayings are losing their meaning.
Long in the tooth is generally believed to refer to horses and the fact that their teeth carry on growing as they get older (see here). But there is some discussion about this. As I was an expert on useless facts to do with teeth in a past life, I happen to know that one of the by products of humans getting older is that their gums start to recede, making their teeth look longer. However this can be prevented by better brushing etc (I don't want to give you a lecture on how to look after your teeth).
My question is: As we all look after our teeth better, will this phrase lose its meaning? Or has it already done so.
