jaws of death

English

Noun

jaws of death pl (plural only)

1. (poetic, figuratively, cliche) A very narrowly avoided, or close to, fatal situation.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     "And then at last I see him, and behold, my chance is gone but by a hair's breadth even before I have it, for he is in the very jaws of death, whence no power of mine can draw him."

Related terms

• gates of death
• gates of Hell

Translations

A narrowly avoided fatal situation

• Korean: 사지(死地) (ko) (saji)
• Maori: waha o te parata