cheek by jowl

Cultural  

1. Situated side by side or in close contact: “The commuters were packed in the subway cheek by jowl.”

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cheek by jowl Idioms  

1. Side by side, close together, as in In that crowded subway car we stood cheek by jowl, virtually holding one another up. This term dates from the 16th century, when it replaced cheek by cheek.

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Example Sentences

“The houses are crammed in there, cheek by jowl,” he added.

From Seattle Times

“You saw scenes of people literally cheek by jowl, no distancing, nothing,” he said.

From New York Times

But there seems to be some hesitancy to impose this on theatergoers, even though they’ll be sitting cheek by jowl in rows that could make flying coach seem like a fantastic luxury.

From Los Angeles Times

"In terms of Dickensian inequality, in terms of the haves and have-nots, living cheek by jowl, London is really quite similar to what it was 500 years ago."

From BBC

Hundreds of millions of poor people live cheek by jowl, easy targets for a highly contagious virus.

From New York Times