skin

be skin and bone be very thin.

by the skin of your teeth by a very narrow margin; only just.

get under someone's skin

1 annoy or irritate someone intensely.

2 fill someone's mind in a compelling and continual way.

3 reach a deep understanding of someone. informal

❶ 2000 Joanne HarrisBlackberry Wine He argued constantly with his mother-everything got under his skin that year.

give someone (some) skin shake or slap hands together as a gesture of friendship or solidarity. African American slang

have skin in the game have a personal investment in an organization or undertaking, and therefore a vested interest in its success. informal

☞ The idiom may be based either on the idea of the skin as representing the whole person (as in expressions such as save someone's skin), or on the US slang use of skin to mean 'dollar'.

1996Observer We want to make a step change in our clients' business-and we're willing to risk our own capital to do it …. We're transforming the business by having skin in the game.

have a thick (or thin) skin be insensitive (or oversensitive) to criticism or insults.

it's no skin off my nose it's a matter of indifference to me; I am unaffected by it. informal

jump out of your skin: seejump.

make your skin crawl: seecrawl.

save someone's skin: seesave.

skin (your) teeth laugh or smile. West Indian

there's more than one way to skin a cat there's more than one way of achieving your aim.

☞ There are several traditional proverbs along these lines, for example there are more ways of killing a cat than choking it with cream.

under the skin in reality, as opposed to superficial appearances.