by the skin of one's teeth

English

Etymology

• From Job 19.20. "My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

by the skin of one's teeth

1. (idiomatic) barely; closely; by a narrow margin; with nothing to spare.

   Synonym: by a hair's breadth

   I passed the test by the skin of my teeth.

   • 2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 57:

     I would have liked to have hung around in Birmingham, but my connections are tight owing to a points failure, and I make the CrossCountry Class 170 to Derby by the skin of my teeth.

Translations

barely, closely

• Catalan: pels pèls
• Danish: på et hængende hår
• Finnish: nipin napin (fi), hiuksenhienosti (fi), niukin naukin (fi), hädin tuskin (fi), juuri ja juuri
• French: (Canada) par la peau des dents (fr), (colloquial) d’un poil (fr), par le chas de l’aiguille, de justesse (fr), (rare) à fleur de corde (fr)
• German: mit knapper Not (de); mit Mühe und Not (de); um Haaresbreite; mit Ach und Krach (de) (informal); mit Hängen und Würgen (de) (informal)
• Greek: παρά τρίχα (el) (pará trícha)
• Irish: idir cleith agus ursain
• Italian: per un pelo, per il rotto della cuffia
• Latvian: par mata tiesu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: på hengende håret

• Portuguese: por um fio, por um triz (pt)
• Russian: е́ле (ru) (jéle), е́ле-е́ле (ru) (jéle-jéle), едва́ (ru) (jedvá), едва́-едва́ (ru) (jedvá-jedvá), наси́лу (ru) (nasílu)
• Scots: by a bawhair
• Scottish Gaelic: air èiginn
• Spanish: con las justas, dejando pelos en la gatera (colloquial), por el canto de un duro (colloquial; dated), por un pelo
• Swedish: på håret (sv), med blotta förskräckelsen (sv)
• Thai: เส้นยาแดงผ่าแปด (th)

See also

• close shave

Further reading

• skin of my teeth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia