Skin of my teeth explained

Skin of my teeth (‘ōr šinnāy) is a phrase from the Bible. In Job 19:20, the King James Version of the Bible says, "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." In the Geneva Bible, the phrase is rendered as "I have escaped with the skinne of my tethe."^[1]

The verse from Job 19:20 can be resolved as follows: In the first clause, the author uses the Hebrew `or in its usual sense of "skin", associating it with "flesh" and "bones". In the second clause, he uses the Hebrew or as derived from the Arabic ghar / "the bones in which the teeth are set (Latin: os maxilla and os mandibula)". Therefore, the correct reading is: "My skin and flesh cling to my bones, and I am left with (only) my gums," giving us a stark description of the advanced stage of Job's disease.^[2]

In modern times, "by the skin of my teeth" is used to describe a situation from which one has barely managed to escape or achieve something;^[3] a close call.

Cultural references to the phrase

• Skin o' My Tooth – 1928 book by Baroness Emma Orczy in which the phrase is a nickname of the main character, a lawyer; the nickname is given by a client who says that he was freed "by the skin o' my tooth"
• The Skin of Our Teeth – 1942 play by Thornton Wilder with multiple Biblical allusions
• "Skin o' My Teeth" – song on Megadeth's 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, referring to the theme of a suicide attempt
• a reference to the quote in the song Alone, the 3rd track on Biting Elbows' 2020 album Shortening the Longing, talking about a bad break-up situation
• "Skin of Her Teeth" – 2021 TV episode in limited series in the Jeff Lindsay Dexter serial killer franchise
• "Skin of My Teeth" – song from Demi Lovato's 2022 album Holy Fvck

See also

• Hair's breadth

Notes and References

1. Web site: The meaning and origin of the expression: By the skin of your teeth . The Phrase Finder . 26 February 2012.
2. David R. . Blumenthal . A Play on Words in the Nineteenth Chapter of Job . Vetus Testamentum . 16 . 1966 . 4 . 497–501. 10.1163/156853366X00313 .
3. Web site: By the skin of one's teeth . Grammarist. 18 October 2016 .