fine-tooth comb

Related to fine-tooth comb: comb through

a fine-tooth comb

A phrase used to describe a way of doing something that is very careful and thorough. We need to go through these files with a fine-tooth comb to find that missing paperwork. Make sure to go through your thesis with a fine-tooth comb before you hand it in—you don't want your advisors wading through proofreading errors, do you?
See also: comb
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fine-tooth comb

A method of searching or investigating in minute detail, as in He examined the figures with a fine-tooth comb but found no errors. The practice of using a comb with close-set teeth to comb out head lice was transferred to various kinds of investigation in the late 1800s.
See also: comb
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • a fine-tooth comb
  • comb
  • fine-tooth comb, to go over with a
  • go over (something) with a fine-tooth comb
  • go over with a fine-tooth comb
  • go over/through something with a fine-tooth comb
  • go through (something) with a fine-tooth comb
  • search (something) with a fine-tooth comb
  • with a fine-tooth comb
  • tooth
References in periodicals archive
I would be devastated if there was anything like PPI because we have been through the business with a fine-tooth comb."
Then, use a fine-tooth comb to part hair down the center.
Combing wet hair with conditioner and a fine-tooth comb is four times more effective at curing pediculosis than water-based, over-the-counter pediculicide shampoos, Nigel Hill, Ph.D., and his colleagues reported.
But it has emerged that Newton has set the board a deadline for this Tuesday to allow Higgins' accountants a chance to check over the books with a fine-tooth comb.
THE COMPANY OFFERS 18 PRODUCTS IN ITS GROOMING LINE, INCLUDING THE DOG SLICKER BRUSH, WHICH IS A 3-IN-1 GROOMING TOOL THAT INCLUDES A FLEA COMB AND A FINE-TOOTH COMB IN ITS HEAD AND SELLS FOR $12.99, AND THE DOG PIN/BRISTLE BRUSH AND FLEA COMB.
We will be looking at some of that in the camp here and going through them with a fine-tooth comb.'
Mitnick insists the contents are fictional and his publishers are currently going through it with a fine-tooth comb to ensure this claim is true.
"Federal officials and state legislators may be running the computerized equivalent of a fine-tooth comb through all sexually explicit material in cyberspace," Morales wrote.
"They really go over the trucks with a fine-tooth comb. That's where we save a lot of big money on the lift trucks," says Gurney.
And it has been proven that the only way to really treat the problem is by manually removing the lice from a child's hair with a fine-tooth comb, he says.
The buyer now has carte blanche to learn all he or she can about your business, which means talking to employees and going over your financial and sales records with a fine-tooth comb.
The surveyor was with us for three days and covered every single policy and procedure with a fine-tooth comb. This proved to be consistently educational - particularly since we were in a conference room for eight hours a day all huddled around our manuals.
Therefore, it is critical that you go over these complaints and orders with a fine-tooth comb to find out whether or not the service reduction actually affects all of the tenants who have signed the complaint.
MANILA -- Senate President Franklin Drilon on Friday said it was "highly improbable" that fake signatures of senators would pass through the fine-tooth comb of the Senate finance committee, the upper chamber's clearinghouse tasked to process and track all pork barrel and other spending allocations made by its 24 members.