red in tooth and claw involving savage or merciless conflict or competition.
☞ This phrase originated as a quotation from Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' (1850): 'Nature, red in tooth and claw'.
2001Observer While there is a 'red in tooth and claw' aspect to this financial sharp end, there is a still larger element in the overclass who do not get their hands quite so dirty.