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I am inclined to think that 'to suck your teeth' is a possible description for the sound 'tsk'. Is there any good source to support (or dismiss) my assumption?

By 'tsk' I mean the onomatopoeia for a dental click sound that is used by English speakers to signify impatience, disapproval or reluctance.

For those who think I am asking "why 'tsk' is written for the sound of disapproval", hence is a duplicate of a question asked some years ago, let me say that I am aware of that question, and no, that is not what I am asking.

IanS
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    ...where I asked about the [sound] formed by suction* against the back of the front teeth/palate [which] is normally written as either "tut" or "tsk". At time of asking I didn't realise that there are people who pronounce* those orthographies. As opposed to actually sucking their teeth, I mean, though I think no-one on that earlier page ever used the specific term suck one's teeth. Which I always interpret as meaning to draw breath against the teeth (an "inverted sigh" indicating upcoming difficulty / expense, whereas "alveolar click tut" indicates disapproval). – FumbleFingers Mar 31 '17 at 00:11
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    In that earlier question ("tsk for sound of disapproval"), nobody used the term "sucking one's teeth". Actually, I'm not quite sure if "sucking one's teeth" has a stable meaning - it may mean different things to different people, and 'drawing breath' could indeed be what many people think of (rather than 'tsk'). Google is not much help in arbitrating this. I'm hoping that someone here on ELUSE might have an authoritative source that can settle it. – IanS Mar 31 '17 at 01:41
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    I've never considered "sucking ones teeth" to be associated with a significant sound. Rather you notice that the mouth is contorted as the listener alternately gags and bites his tongue as he listens to something he has difficulty believing/accepting. – Hot Licks Mar 31 '17 at 02:00
  • I can see that unless a respected authority has defined 'suck one's teeth', it is destined to be an ambiguous phrase. Perhaps 'to click one's teeth' is, after all, a better description of 'tsk'. – IanS Mar 31 '17 at 02:18
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    Until today I had not realised that is what "Tsk" was supposed to represent. "tut," yes, but not, "tsk." – Rory Alsop Mar 31 '17 at 12:10

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