B2idiominformalsuccessIELTS-friendly
by the skin of your teeth
USUK
only just; with almost no margin
'Your' changes to my, his, their and so on. Used with pass, escape, survive, win.
In context
I passed my driving test by the skin of my teeth.
The team avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth on the last day.
Common mistake
Incorrect: I caught the bus by skin of my teeth.
Correct: I caught the bus by the skin of my teeth.
More idioms about success
- a blessing in disguisesomething that seems bad at first but later brings a good result
- a close calla situation in which you only just avoid danger or failure
- a dream come truesomething you have wanted for a long time that has finally happened
- a feather in your capan achievement that you can be proud of and that may help you later
- a flash in the pana sudden success that does not last or happen again