armed to the teeth

armed to the teeth

Possessing many weapons. They thought the criminal only had a knife, but he was actually armed to the teeth. A lot of these preppers are armed to the teeth to protect their stockpiles of food.
See also: arm, teeth
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

armed to the teeth

Fig. heavily armed with deadly weapons. The bank robber was armed to the teeth when he was caught. There are too many guns around. The entire country is armed to the teeth.
See also: arm, teeth
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

armed to the teeth

Overly well equipped or prepared, as in With her elaborate gown and makeup, she was armed to the teeth for her first New York appearance . The expression to the teeth meant "well equipped" in the 14th century, when knights often wore head-to-foot armor. The idiom, however, only gained currency in the mid-1800s, at first still applied to weapons or other military equipment. Today it is used still more figuratively.
See also: arm, teeth
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

armed to the teeth

If someone is armed to the teeth, they have a lot of weapons. They stationed themselves, armed to the teeth, near the union hall. These criminals are armed to the teeth with the most modern equipment.
See also: arm, teeth
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

armed to the teeth

1 carrying a lot of weapons. 2 heavily equipped.
See also: arm, teeth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ˌarmed to the ˈteeth (with something)

(informal) carrying a lot of weapons or a lot of things needed for a particular purpose: The tourists got out of the coach, armed to the teeth with cameras, binoculars, and guidebooks.
See also: arm, teeth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

armed to the teeth

Overequipped, overprepared to do battle. The phrase was popularized through a speech by English statesman Richard Cobden in 1849, in which he held that too much of Britain’s wealth was devoted to armaments. However, to the teeth has meant completely equipped since the fourteenth century. Libeaus Disconus (ca. 1350) had it, “All yarmed to the teth.”
See also: arm, teeth
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • be armed to the teeth
  • drop (one's) teeth
  • drop one’s teeth
  • drop teeth
  • hell's teeth
  • grit one's teeth, to
  • cast in (one's) teeth
  • cast something in someone's teeth
  • grit (one's) teeth
  • grit one's teeth
References in classic literature
In the wild regions of Kattiawar (and how wild they are, you will understand, when I tell you that even the husbandmen plough the land, armed to the teeth), the population is fanatically devoted to the old Hindoo religion-- to the ancient worship of Bramah and Vishnu.
They were armed to the teeth with lance, sword, and mace, with square shields notched at the upper right-hand corner to serve as a spear-rest.
While incidents like these, arising out of drums and masquerades and parties at quadrille, were passing at the west end of the town, heavy stagecoaches and scarce heavier waggons were lumbering slowly towards the city, the coachmen, guard, and passengers, armed to the teeth, and the coach--a day or so perhaps behind its time, but that was nothing--despoiled by highwaymen; who made no scruple to attack, alone and single-handed, a whole caravan of goods and men, and sometimes shot a passenger or two, and were sometimes shot themselves, as the case might be.
Another rabble pressed close around our old friend, the valiant King of Thunes, armed to the teeth. Clopin Trouillefou, with a very serious air and in a low voice, was regulating the distribution of an enormous cask of arms, which stood wide open in front of him and from whence poured out in profusion, axes, swords, bassinets, coats of mail, broadswords, lance-heads, arrows, and viretons,* like apples and grapes from a horn of plenty.
From fifty to sixty Musketeers, who appeared to replace one another in order always to present an imposing number, paraded constantly, armed to the teeth and ready for anything.
Late in the day three of Karain's chief men, dressed in their best and armed to the teeth, came off in a canoe, bringing a case of dollars.
The brute was twelve feet in height and armed to the teeth, but I believe that I could have accounted for the whole roomful in the terrific intensity of my rage.
I assure you that I am armed to the teeth, and I am perfectly prepared to use my weapons, knowing that the law will support me.
"When the manager, escorted by the pilgrims, all of them armed to the teeth, had gone to the house, this chap came on board.
On the eve of the outbreak of the war there were six great powers in the world and a cluster of smaller ones, each armed to the teeth and straining every nerve to get ahead of the others in deadliness of equipment and military efficiency.
One of the sources revealed that on sighting the victim in company of his driver, the abductors armed to the teeth smartly ushered him into a waiting black SUV and zoomed off to an unknown destination.
There are even armoured personnel carriers with men armed to the teeth crawling around.
He termed these human rights violations as war crimes and said it was no less than genocide, as 700,000 Indian occupation forces armed to the teeth are pitted against 200 or so 'militants' - as claimed by Indian defence experts
Now, picture an election where a demobilized MILF competes against political opponents who are armed to the teeth. The Front's leadership must be thinking of the same scenario.
'The unarmed Azerbaijani people, confronting the military armed to the teeth, demonstrated selflessness and heroism.'