by the skin of (one's) teeth

Barely. Often used to describe something that almost didn't happen. Oh man, my car wouldn't start this morning—I just made it here by the skin of my teeth!

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

by the skin of one's teeth

Fig. just barely. (By an amount equal to the thickness of the (imaginary) skin on one's teeth.) I got through calculus class by the skin of my teeth. I got to the airport a few minutes late and missed the plane by the skin of my teeth. Lloyd escaped from the burning building by the skin of his teeth.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

by the skin of one's teeth

Just barely, very narrowly, as in Doug passed the exam by the skin of his teeth. A related term appears in the Bible (Job 19:20), where Job says, "I am escaped with the skin of my teeth," presumably meaning he got away with nothing at all. Today the phrase using by is used most often to describe a narrow escape. [c. 1600] Also see squeak through.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

by the skin of your teeth

COMMON If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you just manage to do it but very nearly fail. In the men's First Division, the champions survived by the skin of their teeth. She was there when the fighting started and escaped by the skin of her teeth. Note: This expression seems to come from the book of Job in the Bible, although its meaning has completely changed. Job loses everything and then says `I am escaped with the skin of my teeth' (Job 19:20), meaning that the skin of his teeth is all he has left.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

by the skin of your teeth

by a very narrow margin; only just.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

do something by the ˌskin of your ˈteeth

(informal) only just do something; nearly fail to do something: We thought we’d miss the plane, but in the end we caught it by the skin of our teeth.

See also: by, of, skin, something, teeth

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

by the skin of (one's) teeth

By the smallest margin.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

by the skin of one's teeth

Just barely. The term comes from the Book of Job (19:20), in which Job tells Bildad of his troubles. He says, “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth,” meaning that hardly anything is left of his body. The expression still is used almost exclusively to mean a narrow escape. However, Thornton Wilder used it as the title of a play, The Skin of Our Teeth, an allegory of how mankind survives that won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1943.

See also: by, of, skin, teeth

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

skin of your teeth

The narrowest of margins. Job 19:20 has its protagonist say, “I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.” That is to say, Job's gums, the skin that held his teeth in place, which would indeed have been a narrow margin.

词组	by the skin of (one's) teeth
释义	by the skin of (one's) teeth by the skin of (one's) teeth Barely. Often used to describe something that almost didn't happen. Oh man, my car wouldn't start this morning—I just made it here by the skin of my teeth! See also: by, of, skin, teeth Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. by the skin of one's teeth Fig. just barely. (By an amount equal to the thickness of the (imaginary) skin on one's teeth.) I got through calculus class by the skin of my teeth. I got to the airport a few minutes late and missed the plane by the skin of my teeth. Lloyd escaped from the burning building by the skin of his teeth. See also: by, of, skin, teeth McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. by the skin of one's teeth Just barely, very narrowly, as in Doug passed the exam by the skin of his teeth. A related term appears in the Bible (Job 19:20), where Job says, "I am escaped with the skin of my teeth," presumably meaning he got away with nothing at all. Today the phrase using by is used most often to describe a narrow escape. [c. 1600] Also see squeak through. See also: by, of, skin, teeth The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. by the skin of your teeth COMMON If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you just manage to do it but very nearly fail. In the men's First Division, the champions survived by the skin of their teeth. She was there when the fighting started and escaped by the skin of her teeth. Note: This expression seems to come from the book of Job in the Bible, although its meaning has completely changed. Job loses everything and then says `I am escaped with the skin of my teeth' (Job 19:20), meaning that the skin of his teeth is all he has left. See also: by, of, skin, teeth Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. by the skin of your teeth by a very narrow margin; only just. See also: by, of, skin, teeth Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary do something by the ˌskin of your ˈteeth (informal) only just do something; nearly fail to do something: We thought we’d miss the plane, but in the end we caught it by the skin of our teeth. See also: by, of, skin, something, teeth Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary by the skin of (one's) teeth By the smallest margin. See also: by, of, skin, teeth American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. by the skin of one's teeth Just barely. The term comes from the Book of Job (19:20), in which Job tells Bildad of his troubles. He says, “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth,” meaning that hardly anything is left of his body. The expression still is used almost exclusively to mean a narrow escape. However, Thornton Wilder used it as the title of a play, The Skin of Our Teeth, an allegory of how mankind survives that won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1943. See also: by, of, skin, teeth The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer skin of your teeth The narrowest of margins. Job 19:20 has its protagonist say, “I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.” That is to say, Job's gums, the skin that held his teeth in place, which would indeed have been a narrow margin. See also: of, skin, teeth Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price See also: get one's teeth into (something), to bite on bite on (something or someone) bite on someone cast in (one's) teeth cast something in someone's teeth grit (one's) teeth grit one's teeth grit teeth grit your teeth
随便看	on somebody's say-so on somebody's shoulders on somebody's tail on someone's on someone's back on (someone's) behalf on someone's coattails on someone's coat-tails on someone's hands on someone's lips on someone's mind on (someone's or something's) dime on (someone's or something's) (own) merits on (someone's) part on someone's radar on someone's side on someone's watch on (someone's) wrong side on someone’s tail on someone’s watch on some other shit on song on speaking terms on spec on standby