The English language is full of idioms that to native speakers are commonplace, but to non-natives are downright bizarre. An idiom is just a group of words whose meaning is established by popular usage, while totally nonsensical when you look at them by face value.
Think about the phrase, “it’s raining cats and dogs.” Many of us have used this phrase to describe spring downpours in Texas, but when you take a moment, it actually makes little sense.
Just for fun, we’ve taken a few teeth and mouth-related idioms and explained their meaning. Can you think of any we are missing?
By the skin of your teeth
Obviously your teeth don’t have skin, so where did this saying come from? This phrase has an ancient history tracing back to the Book of Job in the Bible. Meaning, “to narrowly escape from disaster,” the original reference was used to describe Job’s temptations by Satan.
Fight tooth and nail
While this phrase has changed slightly since its origin more than five centuries ago, it still has the same meaning: a fight undertaken with all one’s strength. This phrase is an illusion to fights between animals that were so vicious they literally used their teeth and their nails. Today, we use this phrase for any struggle, figurative or otherwise—not those that involve fighting to the death (usually).
No skin off my teeth
What is it with the “skin on the teeth” references? This phrase is common in the southern United States, while other state to the north tend to favor the saying, “no skin off my back.” In both cases, the meaning is that something isn’t too much of a risk or concern. Both phrases have roots in modern proverbs.
It’s just like pulling teeth
For those of you with children, this may be a favorite phrase in your house to describe how difficult it is to get them to do household chores. This idiom is used to describe a task that is exceptionally difficult or tedious. The phrase dates back to the 19th century when pulling teeth was still feel-every-bit-of-it painful. Thankfully, modern-day advancements make this phrase a thing of the past!
A kick in the teeth
While not as common as the phrases above, this idiom describes a humiliating or disappointing setback. It generally refers to a person who was not helpful during a time when you were down, and the disappointment that you feel knowing they could have. Instead of offering a helping hand, they gave you a “kick in the teeth.”
Armed to the teeth
This saying dates back to the time of pirates. In the sixteenth century, the arms that pirates used took a significant amount of time to reload, and therefore were quite useless in some skirmishes. To prevent being vulnerable, they would carry one gun in each hand and place their knife in their mouth. This phrase, thus, had a literal meaning—armed to the teeth meant that all the pirate’s weapons were at the ready. In modern English, this phrase means to have an enormous amount of any type of weaponry.
Set your teeth on edge
This phrase has been seen in both Shakespeare and in the Bible, and is used to refer to the tingling feeling your teeth get when you eat something sour. Today, the phrase has been expanded to describe things that are generally annoying or irritating.
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