cheek by jowl

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cheek by jowl (idiom)
/tʃiːk baɪ dʒaʊl/

Synopsis

The idiom “cheek by jowl” means extremely close together and comes from the literal image of a cheek touching a jaw. Originating in England, it was in use by the late sixteenth century and quickly developed from a physical description into a figurative expression for close proximity, a meaning that has remained stable in modern English.

Variants

• cheek to jowl
• jowl to jowl (rare / archaic)

Meanings

• Very close together; side by side, often with little or no personal space.
• In close association or proximity, sometimes uncomfortably or unexpectedly.
• Existing or placed tightly next to something else, emphasizing crowding.
• (Literal, older sense) With one person’s cheek physically touching another’s jaw or cheek.

Synonyms: side by side; shoulder to shoulder; close together; tightly packed; in close quarters; crowded together.

Example Sentences

1. People were standing cheek by jowl on the train during the morning rush.
2. Old houses and modern office towers stand cheek by jowl in the city center.
3. The audience sat cheek by jowl, leaving almost no room to move.
4. (Literal) The exhausted travelers slept cheek by jowl on the narrow bench.

Origin and History

The idiom “cheek by jowl” originates in English as a vivid metaphor for very close physical proximity. The phrase combines two parts of the face—”cheek,” the side of the face below the eye, and “jowl,” the lower fleshy part of the jaw — to evoke the image of two people so close that one’s cheek nearly touches another’s jaw. This connection creates a mental picture of tight positioning that naturally extended into figurative use to describe things or people standing closely side by side. The imagery likely appealed to early English speakers because of its direct readability: the cheek and jowl are adjacent facial parts, giving immediate sense to the idea of closeness. Over time this literal image was adapted into a standard idiom in English to represent not only physical closeness, but also closeness in social, conceptual, and environmental contexts.

Historical linguists have noted that the adjective “jowl” itself has deep roots in early English, deriving from forms in Old and Middle English that referred to the jaw or cheek. This etymological foundation helped ground the phrase in the language long before its idiomatic use became fixed in literary and spoken English. Although the exact moment of coining remains uncertain, the phrase’s vivid physical metaphor and familiar body-part terms facilitated its endurance and spread across centuries.

Geographic Origin and English Usage

The idiom “cheek by jowl” first emerged in England, within early modern English usage. Its early appearances in print come from British sources, indicating that the phrase was part of English usage in Britain by the late 16th century. The form later spread with English literature and usage to other varieties of English, including American English, but its roots in Britain are foundational. The combination of words reflects the linguistic tendencies of English speakers of that period to form expressive compound phrases using common body-part terms.

Earliest Printed Record

The earliest currently known printed appearance of “cheek by jowl” dates to 1577 in a translation of historical texts. In this work, the phrase is used in its descriptive sense of closeness, and it predates many later literary usages that helped establish its idiomatic meaning. The citation is as follows:

In The Auncient Ecclesiasticall Histories of the First Six Hundred Yeares After Christ by Meredith Hanmer (1577):

“Cheeke by iole with the Emperour.”

This record demonstrates that the phrase was already in existence by the late 16th century, used in translations of earlier historical narrations. The spelling “Cheeke by iole” reflects Early Modern English orthography and shows that the basic metaphor of cheek next to jowl (jaw) was already in currency.

Shortly thereafter, the phrase appears in canonical literature. For example, in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (circa 1599–1600), the character Demetrius says:

“Follow? Nay, I’ll go with thee, cheek by jowl.”

Shakespeare’s use, occurring within a dramatic dialogue, helped reinforce the idiom’s meaning of accompanying someone closely, contributing to its endurance in English literature.

Linguistic and Historical Context

By the time of its appearance in the late 1500s, English was undergoing extensive growth in idiomatic expressions. Writers and translators frequently drew on everyday physical images to convey abstract ideas. The phrase’s late Middle English and early modern roots show a linguistic environment where speakers were comfortable creating vivid compound phrases for descriptive effect. The metaphor of facial parts supports the phrase’s longevity, since the shared human experience of physical closeness resonates across contexts.

The transition from literal description to figurative idiom also reflects broader trends in the English language of that era, where familiar imagery from body parts and physical interaction became standard in conveying relational or spatial ideas. This process is evident in many other idioms that developed in similar periods.

Origin Summary

The idiom “cheek by jowl” originated in England and can be traced back to at least 1577 in print, where it appeared in Meredith Hanmer’s translation of historical works. It combines the familiar terms “cheek” and “jowl” to create a powerful metaphor for close proximity, both physical and figurative. Its early literary use, including in Shakespeare, helped cement the phrase in English usage. Its development reflects the broader patterns of English idiom formation in the transition from Middle to Early Modern English.

Body, ex, Relationship