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Free Spirit English / September 7, 2019

7. By the Skin of Your Teeth – Learn English Idioms with Videos

Have you ever run for the subway and jumped on board the moment before the doors closed? I bet you were relieved to catch it by the skin of your teeth. Phew!

Dara shares this useful idiom to describe scenarios where we are just in time to do something, or when we are very close to failing, but manage to come through in the end.

Learn English - Everyday Idioms #7. By the Skin of Your Teeth

Transcript

Ewww! Do your teeth have skin? This one’s a little bit strange! This phrase means when you nearly fail, but in the end, you succeed. Or when you do something just in time.

Let’s look at a few examples of how you could use this phrase:

  • Phew! I got out of the building by the skin of my teeth!
  • She passed the test by the skin of her teeth! She got a D-!
  • Paul, I saw you running for the bus this morning. Did you make it?
  • Yeah, by the skin of my teeth!

So there you have it: by the skin of your teeth. Why not tell us about a time when you managed to do something by the skin of your teeth?

Practice

Use the prompts below to prepare some sentences of your own using today’s expression.

  • You passed an important exam by only one point. What would you tell your friends?
  • You are late for a flight and have to run through the airport to find your boarding gate. You arrive just before the gates are closed to passengers. What does the airline staff member tell you?
  • You are visiting a ceramics gallery and as you turn around to look at the works on display, your backpack knocks against an expensive vase. It wobbles and is about to fall. What happens?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Filed Under: Everyday Idioms, Videos

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