What it means
Means you’ve got a weakness for sugary stuff, the kind of person who can’t say no to pudding even when you swear you’re stuffed. It’s not literal teeth, just a handy way to clock someone who hoovers up chocolate, cakes, lollies, biscuits, the lot. If there’s a dessert menu, they’re already halfway through it.
Usage examples
"He said he wasn’t hungry, then inhaled three doughnuts and nicked my chocolate bar. Total sweet tooth, always sniffing around the biscuit tin at tea."
"I have got such a sweet tooth, I can walk past anything except a bakery window."
"She blames her sweet tooth, but we all know who finished the entire tin of biscuits."
"He’s got a proper sweet tooth, that one. Said he was done after dinner then turned up with cheesecake and a spoon five seconds later."
"Mum’s got such a sweet tooth she hides the good biscuits, then acts shocked when the tin comes back empty."
Where it comes from
Recorded in English since the Middle Ages, sweet tooth comes from an older use of tooth meaning a liking or appetite, not just the thing in your mouth. So if someone has a sweet tooth, it simply means they’ve got a real craving for sugary food and desserts.
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