A fine-tooth comb is a comb with thin teeth that are placed very closely together. This type of comb is used for removing lice from hair or to find fleas on pets. Such a comb is capable of locating the tiniest mites or the smallest particles of dirt. So, to apply a fine-tooth comb to something is to look for the tiniest details.
Meaning of Idiom ‘Go Through (or Over) with a Fine-Tooth Comb’
If you go through something with a fine-tooth comb, you examine it very carefully, in great detail; to hunt through something with great care and attention; to make an extremely thorough and detailed analysis; to look for something in every possible place.
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Usage Notes
This idiom is rendered as both go through something with a fine-tooth comb and go over something with a fine-tooth comb. Americans tend to use ‘go over something with a fine-tooth comb’ while British folks tend to use ‘go through.’ Both are correct and sometimes one or the other may seem to work better for a given situation. F
For example, if you searched through an old trunk for your grandfather’s medals, you would tend to say “I went through the trunk with a fine-tooth comb, but I didn’t find my grandfather’s war medals.” Whereas, if you were examining the evidence for a crime, either ‘go through the evidence with a fine-tooth comb” or ‘go over the evidence with a fine-tooth comb’ would sound correct.
Fine-tooth comb itself is an idiom for ‘thorough and detailed examination or search’ and can be used in different ways. For example, we might say ‘Despite applying a fine-tooth comb to the crime scene, the police found nothing to connect their current suspect to the crime.”
Sometimes, fine-toothed comb is used. This is fine, but fine-tooth is correct and easier to say.
Examples Of Use
“I can’t find that paper anywhere. I went through everything with a fine-tooth comb; even the trash.”
“I went over the house with a fine-tooth comb, looking for my keys. Then I found them in the fridge.”
“I’m terrible at proofreading my own stuff. I go through it with a fine-tooth comb and I still don’t spot all the typos and other mistakes.”
“They hired a forensic accountant to go over the books with a fine-tooth comb.”
Origin
Fine-tooth comb has been used figuratively in English since the later 1800s.
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- Get Out of My Hair
- Go Over the Same Old Ground
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