Just barely, very narrowly, as in Doug passed the exam by the skin of his teeth. A related term appears in the Bible (Job 19:20), where Job says, “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth,” presumably meaning he got away with nothing at all. Today the phrase using by is used most often to ...

Li: So, if you got to the train by the skin of your teeth, it means that you nearly missed it? Jennifer: That's exactly right. Let's hear some more examples of the phrase in action: My brother's so lucky – he never does any revision for exams but always manages to pass by the skin of his teeth!

5 days ago - He escaped from the secret police by the skin of his teeth.

August 31, 2022 - Photo of the lower part of a person’s face with the mouth open and displaying the teeth. ... To escape by the skin of one’s teeth is to narrowly avoid some hazard. It’s an idiom, which by definition makes no literal sense; teeth, of course, ...

→ 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.

ONE’S TEETH, barely, by a nose ... close for comfort — SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like: “He caught the train, but only BY THE SKIN OF HIS TEETH.“ ......

2 weeks ago - DO SOMETHING BY THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH definition: to just manage to do something, although you very nearly fail | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

2 weeks ago - If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you just manage to do it. He won, but only by the skin of his teeth.

All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. Job, Chapter 19, verses 18–20, part of the lamentations of Job to God about his dreadful situation.

April 11, 2018 - The King James version reads, “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” It’s meant to convey a slim escape from a risky situation.

Answer (1 of 2): It’s become a saying meaning “by very slim odds”. Generally the whole phrase is “escaped by the skin of his teeth”, which means you barely escaped a situation intact.

January 3, 2024 - It says, “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” There is an alternative version in the Geneva Bible that reads: “I have escaped with the skinne of my tethe.” In this original version, the phrase is referring to the advanced stage of Job’s disease and the fact that he’s left, metaphorically or not, with only his skull.” Since the lines have changed meaning to refer to a close call or a very narrow margin. “By the skin of your teeth” should be used when you’re talking about yourself, or someone else, who was very close to not accomplishing something that they wanted to accomplish.

July 26, 2025 - The idiom “by the skin of one’s teeth” is directly linked to the suffering of Job, a central figure in the Bible known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith. Job’s story is often referenced in discussions of endurance, perseverance, and the human condition.

January 24, 2019 - By this point, Job has suffered through an illness that has left him very thin (skin and bones) but he expresses thanks that he has “escaped with the skin of my teeth”. So the phrase has come to mean barely avoiding something (usually something bad) or barely succeeding at something.

June 13, 2024 - My bone cleaueth to my skinne, and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skinne of my teeth. The King James Version followed the text of the 1560 Geneva Bible (the primary Bible of 16th-century Protestantism), which itself translated literally the biblical Hebrew bĕʿōr šinnāi, with the skin of my teeth.

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by the skin of one's teeth · Definition of by the skin of one's teeth · as in slightly by a very small margin They won the contest by the skin of their teeth. Synonyms & Similar Words · Relevance · slightly · just · barely · narrowly ...

Just barely, very narrowly, as in Doug passed the exam by the skin of his teeth. A related term appears in the Bible (Job 19:20), where Job says, "I am escaped with the skin of my teeth," presumably meaning he got away with nothing at all.