By the skin of your teeth meaning and example

by the skin of your teeth

Meaning:

• barely manage to do something
• narrowly succeed in doing something
• manage to do something by the smallest margin

Example:

1. We managed to complete the project on time by the skin of our teeth.
2. After being chased by the police a long way, the criminal managed to escape by the skin of his teeth.
3. He made the final cut off list of the university by the skin of his teeth.
4. I managed to pass the exam by the skin if my teeth.
5. He slipped at the edge of the cliff but managed to hold on to a rock, and was saved by the skin of his teeth.
6. The team held on by the skin of their teeth to win the crucial match.
7. He cleared the selection criteria by the skin of his teeth.
8. We escaped the raging rioters by the skin of our teeth.

Origin:
This phrase first appeared in English in 1560 in the Geneva Bible, in Job 19:20. It provides a literal translation of the original Hebrew. Since teeth have no skin, the expression refers to the smallest possible measure.

B 1 Thought

wouldn’t be caught dead ❯❮ pull a rabbit out of the hat

This article is about the Biblical phrase and common saying. For the biofilm "skin" found on teeth, see dental plaque.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Skin of my teeth (Hebrew: עוֹר שִׁנָּי ‘ōr šinnāy) is a phrase from the Bible. In Job 19:20, the King James Version of the Bible says, "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped by the skin of my teeth." In the Geneva Bible, the phrase is rendered as "I have escaped with the skinne of my tethe."[1]

The verse from Job 19:20 can be resolved as follows: In the first clause, the author uses the Hebrew `or in its usual sense of "skin", associating it with "flesh" and "bones". In the second clause, he uses the Hebrew or as derived from the Arabic ghar / "the bones in which the teeth are set (Latin: os maxilla and os mandibula)". Therefore, the correct reading is: "My skin and flesh cling to my bones, and I am left with (only) my gums," giving us a stark description of the advanced stage of Job's disease.[2]

In modern times, "by the skin of my teeth" is used to describe a situation from which one has barely managed to escape or achieve something;[3][4] a close call.

Cultural references to the phrase[edit]

• Skin o' My Tooth – 1928 book by Baroness Emma Orczy in which the phrase is a nickname of the main character, a lawyer; the nickname is given by a client who says that he was freed "by the skin o' my tooth"
• The Skin of Our Teeth – 1942 play by Thornton Wilder with multiple Biblical allusions
• "Skin o' My Teeth" – song on Megadeth's 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, referring to the theme of a suicide attempt
• a reference to the quote in the song Alone, the 3rd track on Biting Elbows' 2020 album Shortening the Longing, talking about a bad break-up situation
• "Skin of Her Teeth" – 2021 TV episode in Dexter: New Blood limited series in the Jeff Lindsay Dexter serial killer franchise
• "Skin of My Teeth" – song from Demi Lovato's 2022 album Holy Fvck

See also[edit]

• Hair's breadth

References[edit]

1. ^ "The meaning and origin of the expression: By the skin of your teeth". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
2. ^ Blumenthal, David R. (1966). "A Play on Words in the Nineteenth Chapter of Job" (PDF). Vetus Testamentum. 16: 497–501.
3. ^ Cohen, Israel "izzy", Teaching English to Hebrew Speakers, Petah Tikva, Israel, archived from the original (Microsoft Word) on 7 March 2014
4. ^ "By the skin of one's teeth". Grammarist.

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishby the skin of your teethby the skin of your teethinformalJUST/A MOMENT AGO if you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just succeed in doing it, and very nearly failed to do it  Two others made it by the skin of their teeth. → skinExamples from the Corpusby the skin of your teeth• Jeff just got into college by the skin of his teeth.• The business is surviving, but only by the skin of its teeth.• The car broke down on the way to the airport and they just caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.