by the skin of one's teeth

by the skin of one's teeth
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.

* * *
{adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. * /The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth./ * /She passed English by the skin of her teeth./ Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN INCH OF.

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • by the skin of one's teeth — {adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. * /The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth./ * /She passed English by the skin of her teeth./ Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • by the skin of one's teeth — (ONLY) JUST, narrowly, by a hair s breadth, by a very small margin; informal by a whisker. → skin * * * by the skin of one s teeth see under ↑skin • • • Main Entry: ↑tooth * * * by a very narrow margin; barely I only got away by the skin o …   Useful english dictionary

  • by the skin of one's teeth — ► by the skin of one s teeth by a very narrow margin. Main Entry: ↑skin …   English terms dictionary

  • with the skin of one's teeth — Very narrowly ● skin …   Useful english dictionary

  • by the skin of one's teeth — idi inf by the skin of one s teeth, by an extremely narrow margin; just barely …   From formal English to slang

  • the skin of one's teeth — phrasal : a very narrow margin escaped by the skin of my teeth Job 19:20 (Revised Standard Version) …   Useful english dictionary

  • by the skin of one's teeth — by a very small margin, only just, barely I made the application date for the job by the skin of my teeth. We were able to arrive in time for the train by the skin of our teeth …   Idioms and examples

  • by\ the\ skin\ of\ one's\ teeth — adv. phr. By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth. She passed English by the skin of her teeth. Compare: squeak through, within an ace of or within an inch of …   Словарь американских идиом

  • by the skin of one's teeth —    If you manage to do something by the skin of your teeth, you succeed in doing it but you almost fail.     The traffic was so heavy I thought I d miss the train, but I caught it by the skin of my teeth …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • by the skin of one's teeth — adverb barely; closely; by a narrow margin; with nothing to spare. I passed the test by the skin of my teeth …   Wiktionary

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