houndstooth

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English[edit]

WOTD – 2 December 2016
The South Korean girl group Hello Venus performing in 2014. Its members are all wearing houndstooth-patterned trousers.
A houndstooth pattern

Etymology[edit]

hound +‎ -s- +‎ tooth, from its appearance.

Although the pattern itself is archaeologically found from time immemorial, the modern term is first attested in 1936.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

houndstooth (plural houndsteeth)

  1. A two-colour fabric pattern of broken checks.
    • 1974, Interior Design, volume 45, New York, N.Y.: Interior Design Division of Whitney Communication Corp., →OCLC, page 251, column 1:
      Other patterns include varied adaptations of paisleys, Tree of Life motifs, tiles, scenics, patchworks, ticking, soft-edge geometries, sports themes, crewel shapes, houndsteeth, and a plethora of florals.
    • 1998, Deborah Newton, “Dressmaker Details & Finishing”, in Designing Knitwear, Newtown, Ct.: Taunton Press, →ISBN, page 210:
      A houndstooth fabric is composed of tiny, interlocking pinwheel motifs. There are many houndstooth knitting patterns […]; to add an extra touch to these patterns, work them in nubby or textured yarns.
    • 2004, Lois S. Young, “Houndstooth Toddler Set”, in Jeanne Stauffer, editor, Knitting in the Round, Berne, Ind.: House of White Birches, →ISBN, page 56:
      Sophisticated houndstooth checks highlight a toddler's jacket and hat.
  2. Fabric with a houndstooth pattern; an item of clothing made with such fabric.
    • 1970, Men's Wear, volume 161, New York, N.Y.: Fairchild Publications, →OCLC, page 73, column 1:
      Their ties were tidier, their houndsteeth toothier … they ended up looking more Windsorian than Windsor.
    • 2014, Jacinda Townsend, “Jupiter”, in Saint Monkey: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 68:
      Her dress is wool too, brown and black houndsteeth that belonged to her mother.

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Further reading[edit]

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