A: Our photography exhibition in Beijing was a great success.

    B: Yes, it owed much of its sucess to us working cheek by jowl with the organizers.

    Note: The idiom means “very close together, side by side.” It originated from “The Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare — if two people are together with one person’s cheek right by another person’s cheek (jowl), they are pretty close indeed.

    The idiom can be substituted for the similar idioms “cheek by cheek” and “cheek to cheek.”