English Idiom – By the skin of your teeth.
Only just. To succeed by the smallest possible margin, or to only just escape something dangerous or unpleasant.
Teeth don’t actually have skin – so if you manage something by the skin of your teeth, you manage it by the tiniest margin imaginable. The phrase is very old: it comes from the Bible, in the Book of Job.
Don’t confuse it with no skin off my nose, which means you don’t care about something because it doesn’t affect you.
Usage:
- A football team only just wins a match.
- A student passes an exam by a tiny margin.
- Someone only just catches a train or plane.
- A person narrowly avoids danger.
Example:
- “Real Madrid had a terrible second half, but they hung on to win by the skin of their teeth!”
In the News
Spotted in the newsIntense footage shows how rally driver is saved by the skin of his teeth!jacarandafm.comWhat is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only just – succeeding or escaping by the smallest possible margin.
It comes from the Bible, in the Book of Job.
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