By the Skin of One's Teeth.
English
idiom
Used to express that someone just barely achieved or avoided something.
Trusted by1M+English learners & teachers worldwide
Used to express that someone just barely achieved or avoided something.
Trusted by1M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To barely make it, with almost nothing to spare.
When you do something by the skin of your teeth, a moment more and you would have failed.
It is used when someone narrowly avoids a bad ending.
"Close Call"
—
A situation where something bad nearly happened but was avoided at the last moment
"Scrape Through"
—
Managing to pass or succeed, but only barely and with difficulty
"By the Skin of One's Teeth"
—
Succeeding or escaping by the narrowest possible margin
Did we make the deadline?
By the skin of our teeth — I uploaded it literally thirty seconds before it closed.
How did the job interview go — you seemed really nervous beforehand.
I got the job, but by the skin of my teeth — they said it was a very close decision.
Did you catch your train this morning?
By the skin of my teeth — I jumped on as the doors were closing.
