Idiom – By the skin of your teeth

• Idiom – By the skin of your teeth
• Meaning – To only just succeed in doing something. To just barely do something; to succeed by the smallest of margin.
• Teeth – of course – don’t actually have skin, so if you achieve something by the skin of your teeth you achieve it by the tiniest of margins.

Usage:

When could you use this idiom?

• If a football team narrowly wins a match.
• A student passes an exam by a very small margin.
• Someone only just catches a train or plane.
• A person just about manages to avoid danger.

Example:

• “Real Madrid had a terrible second half but they managed to hold on to a victory by the skin of their teeth!”

In The News:

Intense footage shows how rally driver is saved by the skin of his teeth!

Discuss: