Your teeth don’t really have skin, and nobody pulls them out to get a straight answer, but in English both happen every day. Teeth are the language’s favourite way to talk about effort, power, narrow escapes and the things that really annoy us.
This guide covers 28 teeth idioms, also known as idioms about teeth or expressions with the words tooth and teeth, used in everyday English. Each one comes with a plain-English meaning, two example sentences and other ways to say it. You’ll also find origins for the most interesting ones, the pairs learners mix up most, popular tooth sayings, ready-to-use phrases for daily life, other words for teeth, and a quiz to check what you’ve learned.
The Quick Answer
The most common idioms with teeth are by the skin of your teeth (only just), like pulling teeth (extremely difficult), grit your teeth (bear something bravely), sink your teeth into (start something with enthusiasm), cut your teeth on (get your first experience), armed to the teeth (heavily armed) and have a sweet tooth (love sugary food).
Tooth Metaphors: The Key to Understanding Teeth Idioms
Almost every teeth idiom is a metaphor built on one of three simple ideas. Once you know them, you can usually guess what a new idiom or phrase with the word teeth means.
- Teeth stand for effort and determination. You grit your teeth, sink your teeth into a project or fight tooth and nail, just as an animal bites down and won’t let go.
- Teeth stand for power and threat. A law that has teeth can punish you, an angry person bares their teeth, and someone armed to the teeth is dangerous.
- Teeth show age and experience. Babies cut their first teeth, and old horses look long in the tooth, so teeth idioms often describe beginners and veterans.
All 28 Teeth Idioms at a Glance
Here are all 28 idioms with tooth and teeth from this guide, each with a one-line meaning and its usual tone. Tap any idiom to jump straight to its full explanation, example sentences and similar phrases.
Tone key: 😊 positive · 😟 negative · ⚖️ neutral · 🙃 often sarcastic or playful
| # | Idiom | Meaning | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Like Pulling Teeth | Extremely difficult and slow | 😟 |
| 2 | Grit Your Teeth | Bear something hard with determination | ⚖️ |
| 3 | Through Gritted Teeth | While hiding anger or unwillingness | 🙃 |
| 4 | Sink Your Teeth Into Something | Start something with enthusiasm | 😊 |
| 5 | Get Your Teeth Into Something | Work hard on something challenging | 😊 |
| 6 | Fight Tooth and Nail | Fight with all your strength | ⚖️ |
| 7 | Take the Bit Between Your Teeth | Act with sudden determination | ⚖️ |
| 8 | By the Skin of Your Teeth | Only just; by a tiny margin | ⚖️ |
| 9 | In the Teeth of Something | Despite strong opposition or danger | ⚖️ |
| 10 | Have Teeth | Have real power to enforce rules | 😊 |
| 11 | Toothless | Without real power | 😟 |
| 12 | Draw the Teeth of Something | Make something harmless | ⚖️ |
| 13 | Armed to the Teeth | Carrying many weapons | 😟 |
| 14 | Bare Your Teeth | Show anger or threaten someone | 😟 |
| 15 | Red in Tooth and Claw | Brutal and ruthlessly competitive | 😟 |
| 16 | A Kick in the Teeth | A painful disappointment | 😟 |
| 17 | Sow Dragon’s Teeth | Do something that causes future conflict | 😟 |
| 18 | Set Your Teeth on Edge | Really irritate you | 😟 |
| 19 | Fed Up to the Back Teeth | Completely sick of something | 😟 |
| 20 | Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth | Loud complaining or despair | 🙃 |
| 21 | Lie Through Your Teeth | Tell a shameless lie | 😟 |
| 22 | Cut Your Teeth on Something | Get your first experience through it | ⚖️ |
| 23 | Long in the Tooth | Getting old | 🙃 |
| 24 | Teething Problems | Small problems at the start | ⚖️ |
| 25 | Have a Sweet Tooth | Love sugary food | 😊 |
| 26 | Give Your Eye Teeth for Something | Want something very badly | ⚖️ |
| 27 | Go Over Something With a Fine-Tooth Comb | Check something extremely carefully | ⚖️ |
| 28 | As Rare as Hen’s Teeth | Extremely rare | ⚖️ |
Teeth Idioms About Effort, Difficulty and Determination
When something is hard, English imagines us biting down and refusing to let go. These idioms describe tough tasks, stubborn determination and escapes so narrow they barely count. They’re some of the most common teeth idioms in everyday speech.
1. Like Pulling Teeth
Meaning: Extremely difficult, slow and painful, especially when you’re trying to get information or help from someone. It’s informal and most common in American English.
- Getting my teenager to talk about school is like pulling teeth.
- Finding a plumber on a Sunday was like pulling teeth.
Other ways to say it: like getting blood from a stone / an uphill battle / hard going
Origin: It likely comes from the days before modern dentistry, when pulling a tooth was a slow, painful struggle for both the patient and whoever was doing the pulling.
2. Grit Your Teeth
Meaning: To accept something difficult or unpleasant and carry on with determination.
- I hate injections, but I gritted my teeth and got it done.
- The team gritted their teeth through the final ten minutes.
Other ways to say it: tough it out / bite the bullet / grin and bear it
3. Through Gritted Teeth
Meaning: Saying or doing something while hiding the fact that you’re angry, annoyed or unwilling.
- She congratulated her rival through gritted teeth.
- “Lovely to see you,” he said through gritted teeth.
Other ways to say it: reluctantly / grudgingly / with a forced smile
4. Sink Your Teeth Into Something
Meaning: To start doing something with energy and enthusiasm, or to enjoy getting deeply involved in it.
- I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this new novel.
- The new manager sank her teeth into the problem right away.
Other ways to say it: dive into / get stuck in (British) / throw yourself into
5. Get Your Teeth Into Something
Meaning: To work hard on something that is challenging and interesting. People often say “something to get your teeth into.”
- This project finally gives me something to get my teeth into.
- Once he got his teeth into the case, nothing could stop him.
Other ways to say it: get stuck into / tackle / buckle down
6. Fight Tooth and Nail
Meaning: To fight or try very hard, using all your strength and every method you can.
- Residents fought tooth and nail to save the old library.
- She’ll fight tooth and nail for her clients.
Other ways to say it: fight like a tiger / go all out / give it everything
Origin: The image is of fighting with your teeth and fingernails, like an animal. It has been used in English since at least the 1500s.
7. Take the Bit Between Your Teeth
Meaning: To start dealing with something in a very determined way, often after a slow start. In American English, it’s usually take the bit in your teeth.
- After months of talking, she took the bit between her teeth and opened her own café.
- Once he takes the bit between his teeth, there’s no stopping him.
Other ways to say it: take charge / get going / take the bull by the horns
Origin: It comes from horse riding. The bit is the metal bar in a horse’s mouth; a horse that grips it in its teeth can ignore the rider and run where it likes.
8. By the Skin of Your Teeth
Meaning: Only just; by a very small margin. It’s used about escapes, wins and passes that almost didn’t happen.
- We caught the last train by the skin of our teeth.
- He passed his driving test by the skin of his teeth.
Other ways to say it: only just / by a hair’s breadth / by a whisker
Use it: It fits naturally after verbs like pass, escape, survive, win and make it. “The team avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.” “I made it to the airport by the skin of my teeth.”
Origin: It comes from the Book of Job in the Bible (19:20): “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) made the phrase even more famous.
9. In the Teeth of Something
Meaning: Despite strong opposition or danger, or directly facing it. You’ll often hear “in the teeth of a gale.”
- The plan went ahead in the teeth of fierce opposition.
- The fishing boat sailed home in the teeth of a storm.
Other ways to say it: despite / in the face of / against all odds
Teeth Idioms About Power, Strength and Threats
Teeth are an animal’s weapons, so English uses them to talk about power, danger and aggression. These idioms describe rules that can bite, people who look ready for a fight and blows that hurt. Most are negative, but have teeth is often praise.
10. Have Teeth
Meaning: When a law, rule or organisation has teeth, it has real power to enforce its decisions and punish people who break the rules.
- The new regulator finally has teeth; it can fine companies millions.
- A rule with no teeth is just a suggestion.
Other ways to say it: have clout / have bite / have real power
Use it: You can also give something teeth: “The new penalties give the law real teeth.”
11. Toothless
Meaning: Having no real power or effect, even though it officially exists. People sometimes say a toothless tiger.
- Critics called the committee a toothless talking shop.
- Without funding, the new watchdog is toothless.
Other ways to say it: powerless / ineffective / a paper tiger
12. Draw the Teeth of Something
Meaning: To make something or someone harmless or much less powerful. People also say pull the teeth of something.
- The amendments drew the teeth of the new law.
- A quick apology drew the teeth of the scandal before it spread.
Other ways to say it: defuse / weaken / take the sting out of
13. Armed to the Teeth
Meaning: Carrying a lot of weapons or equipment. To the teeth means “completely, from head to toe.”
- The guards outside the bank were armed to the teeth.
- We went camping armed to the teeth with bug spray and snacks.
Other ways to say it: heavily armed / fully equipped / loaded
Use it: An older phrase, dressed to the teeth, means dressed very smartly, but dressed to the nines is much more common today.
14. Bare Your Teeth
Meaning: To show anger or threaten someone, like an animal showing its teeth before it attacks. Show your teeth means the same.
- When rivals copied their product, the company bared its teeth and sued.
- He’s usually calm, but he bares his teeth if you criticise his family.
Other ways to say it: show your claws / get aggressive / come out fighting
15. Red in Tooth and Claw
Meaning: Brutal, violent and ruthlessly competitive, like nature or a cutthroat business.
- The startup world is red in tooth and claw.
- Politics in the capital is red in tooth and claw.
Other ways to say it: cutthroat / dog-eat-dog / ruthless
Origin: It comes from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850), which describes “Nature, red in tooth and claw.”
16. A Kick in the Teeth
Meaning: A painful disappointment or setback, especially one that feels unfair.
- Losing the job after ten years was a kick in the teeth.
- The late penalty was a real kick in the teeth for the home fans.
Other ways to say it: a slap in the face / a body blow / a bitter blow
17. Sow Dragon’s Teeth
Meaning: To do something that will cause arguments, conflict or trouble in the future.
- By favouring one child, the parents were sowing dragon’s teeth.
- The unfair treaty sowed dragon’s teeth for the next generation.
Other ways to say it: stir up trouble / sow the seeds of conflict
Origin: It comes from Greek myth. The hero Cadmus planted a dragon’s teeth in the ground, and armed soldiers sprang up and began fighting each other.
Teeth Idioms About Annoyance, Anger and Lies
Clenched teeth, ground teeth and gnashing teeth are all signs of strong feeling. These idioms describe things that irritate us, situations we’ve had enough of and people who lie without shame.
18. Set Your Teeth on Edge
Meaning: To irritate or annoy you a lot, especially a sound, taste or way of behaving.
- The squeak of chalk on a blackboard sets my teeth on edge.
- His fake laugh really sets my teeth on edge.
Other ways to say it: get on your nerves / drive you up the wall / grate on you
Origin: It comes from the Bible (Jeremiah 31:29): “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Sour fruit gives your teeth a strange, unpleasant feeling.
19. Fed Up to the Back Teeth
Meaning: Completely sick of something and unable to tolerate it any longer. It’s informal British English.
- I’m fed up to the back teeth with all this rain.
- Commuters are fed up to the back teeth with train delays.
Other ways to say it: sick and tired / at the end of your tether / had it up to here
20. Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth
Meaning: Loud complaining, anger or despair. Today it’s often used humorously about people overreacting.
- The price rise was only ten pence, but there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
- When the Wi-Fi went down, there was gnashing of teeth all over the office.
Other ways to say it: moaning and groaning / an uproar / a fuss
Origin: It comes from the Bible. The Gospel of Matthew uses the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” several times to describe great suffering.
21. Lie Through Your Teeth
Meaning: To tell a shameless lie, knowing it isn’t true.
- He’s lying through his teeth; I saw him take the money.
- The salesman lied through his teeth about the car’s history.
Other ways to say it: lie shamelessly / tell a barefaced lie
Teeth Idioms About Experience and Age
People and animals change their teeth as they grow, from a baby’s first tooth to an old horse’s long teeth. These idioms use that idea to describe beginners, veterans and the early problems of anything new.
22. Cut Your Teeth on Something
Meaning: To get your first experience of a job or activity through something. Cut your teeth means gain early experience.
- She cut her teeth on local newspapers before joining the BBC.
- I cut my teeth on small gigs in pubs before we toured Europe.
Other ways to say it: learn the ropes / earn your stripes / start out
Use it: The image is a baby cutting its first teeth, an early stage of growing up. The opposite, someone with no experience yet, is wet behind the ears, which you’ll find in our ear idioms guide.
23. Long in the Tooth
Meaning: Getting old, often too old for something. It’s informal and usually humorous.
- I’m getting a bit long in the tooth for all-night parties.
- The software is long in the tooth and needs replacing.
Other ways to say it: past your prime / getting on / over the hill
Origin: It comes from horses. As horses age, their gums shrink back, so their teeth look longer. Buyers checked a horse’s teeth to judge its age.
24. Teething Problems
Meaning: Small problems that happen at the start of a new project, system or product. American English often says teething pains.
- The new booking system had a few teething problems in the first week.
- Every new business has teething troubles.
Other ways to say it: early hiccups / growing pains / startup glitches
Other Common Teeth Idioms
These teeth expressions don’t share one theme, but they’re very useful in everyday English. They cover a love of sweets, things you’d give anything for, careful checking and things that almost never happen.
25. Have a Sweet Tooth
Meaning: To love eating sweet, sugary food.
- My dad has a real sweet tooth; he can’t pass a bakery.
- If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love this dessert menu.
Other ways to say it: love sweets / be a chocoholic
26. Give Your Eye Teeth for Something
Meaning: To want something so much that you would give up something very valuable for it.
- I’d give my eye teeth for a house by the sea.
- Plenty of actors would give their eye teeth for that role.
Other ways to say it: give your right arm for / would kill for
Use it: Eye teeth are the pointed canine teeth in your upper jaw, sitting just below the eyes. They’re important for biting, so giving them up would be a big sacrifice. For more expressions with eye, see our eye idioms.
27. Go Over Something With a Fine-Tooth Comb
Meaning: To examine or search something extremely carefully so that nothing is missed. People also say fine-toothed comb.
- The lawyers went over the contract with a fine-tooth comb.
- Police searched the house with a fine-tooth comb.
Other ways to say it: examine closely / scrutinise / leave no stone unturned
Use it: A fine-tooth comb has teeth very close together. It was originally used to remove lice and their eggs from hair, which takes great care.
28. As Rare as Hen’s Teeth
Meaning: Extremely rare, or almost impossible to find.
- Cheap flats in the city centre are as rare as hen’s teeth.
- Good mechanics are as scarce as hen’s teeth around here.
Other ways to say it: few and far between / like gold dust (British) / once in a blue moon
Origin: Hens and other birds don’t have teeth at all, so something “as rare as hen’s teeth” barely exists. It likely began in American English in the 1800s.
Teeth Sayings and Quotes
Tooth sayings are complete sentences that share a piece of advice or wisdom. Alongside the skin of our teeth above, these are the ones you’re most likely to come across.
- An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If someone hurts you, they should be punished in the same way. It comes from the Bible (Exodus 21:24).
- Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Don’t criticise a gift. People judged a horse’s age and value by checking its teeth, so checking a gift horse’s teeth was rude.
- Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond. Good health is worth more than riches. The line is often traced to Cervantes’s Don Quixote.
- Nature, red in tooth and claw. The natural world is violent and competitive. It’s from Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850).
Teeth Idioms That Are Easy to Mix Up
Several teeth idioms look almost the same but mean very different things. Here are the pairs English learners confuse most often.
| Don’t Confuse… | …With |
|---|---|
| Grit Your Teeth: bear it with determination | Gnash Your Teeth: show anger or despair |
| Cut Your Teeth On: gain first experience | Long in the Tooth: getting old |
| Have Teeth: have power to enforce | Bare Your Teeth: threaten or show anger |
| Set Your Teeth on Edge: irritate you | Fed Up to the Back Teeth: completely sick of it |
| By the Skin of Your Teeth: only just | In the Teeth Of: despite or facing |
| Armed to the Teeth: heavily armed | Dressed to the Nines: dressed very smartly |
Teeth Idioms for Work and Everyday Conversation
Need the right phrase for a real situation? These teeth idioms are safe, natural and easy to use in everyday speech and messages.
- Starting a new project: “I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this.”
- Talking about your career: “I cut my teeth in customer service before moving into sales.”
- A close call: “We hit the deadline by the skin of our teeth!”
- A frustrating task: “Getting sign-off from finance is like pulling teeth.”
- New systems at work: “Expect a few teething problems in the first week.”
- Treats in the office: “Whoever has a sweet tooth, there’s cake in the kitchen.”
Other Words for Teeth
Sometimes you don’t need a whole idiom, just a different word for teeth. The right choice depends on whether you’re being casual, playful or technical.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Choppers | Informal word for teeth | “Look at the choppers on that dog!” |
| Gnashers | British slang for teeth | “Brush your gnashers before bed.” |
| Pearly whites | Playful phrase for clean, white teeth | “Smile and show off those pearly whites!” |
| Fangs | Long, pointed teeth of animals (or vampires) | “The snake sank its fangs into the rat.” |
| Incisors / canines / molars | Front, pointed and back teeth | “Molars help you grind food.” |
| Dental | Adjective meaning “related to teeth” | “I have a dental check-up on Friday.” |
| Dentures / falsies | Artificial teeth | “Grandpa keeps his dentures in a glass.” |
| Grill / grillz | Slang for decorative metal covers worn over teeth | “The rapper flashed a gold grill.” |
Test Yourself: Teeth Idioms Quiz
Pick the word that completes each idiom. You'll see the answer right away, and your score at the end.
-
Getting my son to tidy his room is like pulling ______.
Like pulling teeth means extremely difficult and slow.
-
She passed the exam by the skin of her ______.
By the skin of your teeth means only just.
-
I cut my ______ on local newspapers before moving to national TV.
Cut your teeth on something means get your first experience doing it.
-
He hated every minute but smiled through ______ teeth.
Through gritted teeth means while hiding anger or unwillingness.
-
The new law has no real ______, so companies just ignore it.
A rule that has teeth has the power to punish people who break it.
-
The robbers were armed to the ______.
Armed to the teeth means carrying a lot of weapons.
-
I can't resist chocolate. I've got a real sweet ______.
Have a sweet tooth means love sugary food.
-
The sound of nails on a blackboard sets my teeth on ______.
Set your teeth on edge means really irritate you.
-
My dad's getting a bit long in the ______ to play five-a-side football.
Long in the tooth means getting old.
-
Losing the final in the last minute was a real kick in the ______.
A kick in the teeth is a painful disappointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Teeth Idioms?
Teeth idioms, also called idioms with teeth, are fixed expressions that use the words “tooth” or “teeth” with a figurative meaning. For example, “like pulling teeth” doesn't involve a dentist; it means very difficult. Most teeth idioms are about effort, power, narrow escapes, annoyance and experience.
What Does “By the Skin of Your Teeth” Mean?
It means only just, by a very small margin. Teeth have no skin, so the margin is almost nothing. Example sentences: “We caught the last train by the skin of our teeth.” “He passed his driving test by the skin of his teeth.” “The team avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.”
Where Does the Saying “The Skin of Our Teeth” Come From?
It comes from the Bible. In the Book of Job (19:20), Job says, “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” The phrase became even more famous through Thornton Wilder's play “The Skin of Our Teeth” (1942), about a family who barely survive one disaster after another. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
What Does “Have Teeth” Mean?
When a law, rule or organisation “has teeth”, it has real power to enforce its decisions and punish people who break the rules. “The new regulator has teeth; it can fine companies millions.” The opposite is “toothless”: a rule that exists but can't be enforced.
What Does “To the Teeth” Mean?
“To the teeth” means completely, from head to toe. It's mostly heard in “armed to the teeth” (carrying many weapons). An older phrase, “dressed to the teeth”, means dressed very smartly, though “dressed to the nines” is far more common today.
What Does the Expression “Like Pulling Teeth” Mean?
The expression “like pulling teeth” means something is extremely difficult, slow and painful to do, especially getting information or cooperation from someone: “Getting a straight answer from him is like pulling teeth.” It's informal and most common in American English.
What Does “Cut Your Teeth On” Mean?
“Cut your teeth on something” means get your first experience of a job or activity through it. “I cut my teeth on small local gigs before touring Europe.” It comes from babies cutting their first teeth, an early stage of growing up.
What Does “Lick the Back of Your Teeth” Mean?
“Lick the back of your teeth” is not a recognised English idiom. When people use it, they usually mean it literally: touching the back of your teeth with your tongue. You'll often see it in pronunciation lessons, because the tip of the tongue touches the ridge behind the top teeth for sounds like “t”, “d”, “n” and “l”.
