scarce as hen's teeth
Almost never found
Scarce as hen's teeth means extremely rare or nonexistent—hens have no teeth, so something this scarce essentially doesn't exist.
The phrase emphasizes unavailability with folksy humor: Honest politicians are scarce as hen's teeth around here.
Also appears as rare as hen's teeth.
- once in a blue moonExtremely infrequently
- needle in a haystackExtremely difficult thing to locate
- paucityInsufficiency of amount
- one in a millionExtraordinarily rare or special
- once in a lifetimeOccurring only one time
few and far between · infrequency · rarity · diamond in the rough · dearth · shortage · in short supply · slim pickings · thin on the ground · hard to come by · insufficiency · white whale · blue moon · exclusivity · unicorn · uncommon · uniqueness · deficiency
abundance/availability
scarce as hen's teethabundant
Existing in great quantity
plentiful · ubiquitous · a dime a dozen · common as dirt · commonplace
scarce, scarcely, scarceness, scarcity, scarcer, scarcest, teeth