cheek-to-jowl

English

Adjective

cheek-to-jowl (comparative more cheek-to-jowl, superlative most cheek-to-jowl)

1. Alternative form of cheek by jowl
   • 2004, Peter Hoffmann, Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter - Volumes 19-21, page 103:

     But the crowds, presumably more dispersed throughout the sprawling conference center here, looked thinner than last year's noticeably more cheek-to-jowl throng in Washington's smaller Marriott Wardman Park Hotel (H&FCL April 05).

   • 2010, T.G. Berlincourt, Seaside Dream Home Besieged - Colour, page 17:

     A quick journey through Malibu, with its cheek-to-jowl oceanfront development, should be enough to convince even the harshest skeptics of the desirability of preserving as much as possible of the natural character of the remaining magnificent undeveloped coastal zone of California.

   • 2011, Fodor's Dordogne & the Best of Southwest France:

     The 2007 anti-smoking law came as a breath of fresh air in France, making meals in cheek-to-jowl bistros far more enjoyable for those who prefer their foie gras without their neighbor's Gaulois an accompaniment.

Adverb

cheek-to-jowl (comparative more cheek-to-jowl, superlative most cheek-to-jowl)

1. Alternative form of cheek by jowl
   • 2005, Peter S. Gardner, New Directions: Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking, page 21:

     No matter whether a society operates at arm's length or cheek-to-jowl, the women look at each other more and stand a bit closer than do the men.

   • 2011, Edward Atkins, Flight Deck, Part 1, page 236:

     Previous to the above process, when the flight deck is packed cheek-to-jowl with aircraft, the deckedge and the forward elevators were used to bring aircraft from the hangar deck to the flight deck, up forward.

   • 2013, George Shaffner, The Widows of Eden:

     By the time Jenny McCallum played “Rock of Ages,” the pews were packed cheek-to-jowl, little children were sitting on their mothers' laps, and young men were slouching against the wall the way they always do.