The phrase, “by the skin of one’s teeth,” which means “with the smallest possible margin,” comes from the Bible. How can someone possibly escape “by the skin of her teeth”?
In Job 19:20, while complaining about his pitiable situation, Job makes a statement that the King James Bible translates as: “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” While we don’t have skin on our teeth, Job’s vivid phrase, like so many others from the Bible, stuck. Now, whenever anyone narrowly escapes, they’re said to have made it “by the skin of their teeth.”
