Reader's question: cheek to jowl In life, slaves lived in attics, hallways and beneath porches, cheek to jowl with their masters and mistresses. Could you explain “cheek to jowl”?

My comments: It means slaves live in close quarters with their masters and mistresses.

“Jowl” refers to skin that covers either side of a person lower jaw, on either side of the face. “Cheek”, of course, refers to either side of the face above the jaw. Needlessly to say, jowls and cheeks meet at the corners of one’s jaw.

Hence, if someone lives cheek to jowl, or cheek by jowl, with another, they live together very closely.

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本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.