Idioms are fun, imaginative phrases that add flavor to our everyday conversations—and when it comes to teeth, you’d be surprised just how many sayings use this part of the body to express emotions, actions, and attitudes.
In this listicle, we’ll explore idioms related to teeth and explain their meanings. These expressions go beyond the dentist’s chair and reach into areas like bravery, struggle, honesty, and even awkward social moments. Let’s take a big bite out of language and explore these toothy idioms together.
What Are Idioms About Teeth?
Teeth idioms are phrases that use the word “tooth” or “teeth” figuratively to describe emotions, reactions, or situations. They may not actually be about oral hygiene, but they definitely say something deeper. Whether you’re gritting your teeth in frustration or lying through them, these idioms bring life and color to our language.
Idioms About Teeth
1. By the skin of your teeth
Meaning: Barely succeeding at something or just managing to do it.
In a Sentence: He passed his final math exam by the skin of his teeth after cramming all night and barely answering the last question correctly before the time ran out.
2. Grit your teeth
Meaning: To accept a difficult or unpleasant situation with determination.
In a Sentence: Even though she was nervous about her speech, she decided to grit her teeth and deliver it confidently in front of the entire class.
3. Kick in the teeth
Meaning: A sudden disappointment or unfair event, especially when one is already struggling.
In a Sentence: Losing the scholarship after months of hard work felt like a real kick in the teeth, especially when there was no explanation given.
4. Show your teeth
Meaning: To act aggressively or assertively, especially in defense.
In a Sentence: When her ideas were dismissed in the meeting, she finally showed her teeth and defended her proposal with sharp, well-reasoned arguments.
5. Fight tooth and nail
Meaning: To fight very fiercely or with great determination.
In a Sentence: The two siblings fought tooth and nail over who would get the last slice of pizza, neither willing to give up without a dramatic showdown.
6. Sink your teeth into something
Meaning: To become fully involved or engaged in a task or activity.
In a Sentence: She couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into her new art project, spending the entire weekend painting with full focus and joy.
7. Armed to the teeth
Meaning: Heavily equipped or prepared, usually for a fight or challenge.
In a Sentence: The campers were armed to the teeth with snacks, flashlights, bug spray, and every possible supply before heading into the woods for the night.
8. Cut your teeth on something
Meaning: To gain initial experience or skill, often in a challenging way.
In a Sentence: He cut his teeth on small theater productions before eventually landing a major role on Broadway.
9. To lie through your teeth
Meaning: To lie boldly and without shame.
In a Sentence: She told the teacher she had done her homework, but she was lying through her teeth since she hadn’t even opened her notebook.
10. Set your teeth on edge
Meaning: To cause annoyance or discomfort, often due to a sound or feeling.
In a Sentence: The sound of the fork scraping across the plate set my teeth on edge, making me cringe with every screech.
11. Sweet tooth
Meaning: A strong liking for sweet food or desserts.
In a Sentence: If you have a sweet tooth like my brother, you’ll always find a secret stash of cookies hidden somewhere in the kitchen.
12. Give your eyeteeth for something
Meaning: To want something very badly; to be willing to give up something valuable.
In a Sentence: I’d give my eyeteeth for just one more day of vacation before heading back to school.
13. Get your teeth into something
Meaning: To begin to tackle or enjoy a challenging task with enthusiasm.
In a Sentence: The puzzle was tricky, but she got her teeth into it and solved it faster than anyone else at the table.
14. As scarce as hen’s teeth
Meaning: Extremely rare or hard to find.
In a Sentence: Genuine handwritten letters are as scarce as hen’s teeth in today’s world of texts and emails.
15. A kick in the teeth
Meaning: A harsh or unexpected disappointment or insult.
In a Sentence: Getting rejected from the team after all those extra practices felt like a harsh kick in the teeth that he didn’t see coming.
16. Tooth and nail
Meaning: A fierce struggle or determined effort.
In a Sentence: She fought tooth and nail to defend her thesis during the final presentation, responding to every critique with confidence.
17. To be long in the tooth
Meaning: To be getting old or older, usually referring to a person or object.
In a Sentence: That car is getting a bit long in the tooth, but it still runs smoothly after all these years.
18. Bare your teeth
Meaning: To show aggression or readiness to attack, often metaphorically.
In a Sentence: The coach bared his teeth at the referee, clearly furious about the unfair call that changed the game’s outcome.
19. To have teeth
Meaning: To have power or the ability to enforce something.
In a Sentence: The new school policy finally has teeth, meaning students can’t ignore the rules without facing real consequences.
20. To stick in your teeth
Meaning: Something annoying that stays on your mind or bothers you, like literal food caught in your teeth.
In a Sentence: His rude comment during the meeting really stuck in my teeth all day—I just couldn’t stop thinking about how unnecessary it was.
21. To have something handed to you on a silver platter—with pearly whites
Meaning: To receive something easily or without effort (playful twist).
In a Sentence: She never had to work for her grades; everything was handed to her on a silver platter—with pearly whites and all.
22. Grin and bear it
Meaning: To endure something unpleasant while pretending everything is fine.
In a Sentence: Even though her braces were hurting her gums, she decided to grin and bear it during the photo shoot.
23. To bite off more than you can chew
Meaning: To take on a task that is too difficult or time-consuming.
In a Sentence: By volunteering for five school committees at once, he definitely bit off more than he could chew and was quickly overwhelmed.
24. Get your teeth knocked out (figuratively)
Meaning: To experience a serious setback or failure.
In a Sentence: After launching her first business and watching it fail, it felt like she got her teeth knocked out emotionally.
25. To pull teeth
Meaning: Something very difficult to do or get someone to do.
In a Sentence: Trying to get my little brother to clean his room is like pulling teeth—it takes hours and lots of bribes.
26. To have a tooth in every pieMeaning: To be involved in many different activities or projects at once.
In a Sentence: She always has a tooth in every pie—running the student council, drama club, and the science fair all at the same time.
27. To dig your teeth into something
Meaning: To enthusiastically start or focus on a challenging task.
In a Sentence: He dug his teeth into the complex coding project and didn’t stop until the program was running flawlessly.
28. To be all gums and no teeth
Meaning: To make threats or promises without the power to act on them.
In a Sentence: That warning from the principal was all gums and no teeth—we all knew nothing would come of it.
29. To be down in the teeth
Meaning: To be feeling sad, worn down, or defeated.
In a Sentence: After the rough week of exams, he looked a little down in the teeth and in need of a break.
30. Snap at someone’s teeth
Meaning: To be aggressively close to surpassing or overtaking someone.
In a Sentence: The second-place runner was snapping at the leader’s teeth for the entire race, refusing to back down.
31. To be fed up to the teeth
Meaning: To be extremely annoyed or frustrated.
In a Sentence: I’m fed up to the teeth with all these surprise quizzes—we just had one yesterday!
32. To clamp your teeth shut
Meaning: To stay silent or resist reacting emotionally.
In a Sentence: When she heard the unfair comment, she clamped her teeth shut and chose not to argue back.
33. To talk through clenched teeth
Meaning: To speak while angry, often hiding frustration.
In a Sentence: “I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth, clearly not fine at all.
34. Like pulling hen’s teeth
Meaning: Something that is nearly impossible or extremely rare.
In a Sentence: Getting a straight answer from him is like pulling hen’s teeth—you ask five times and still get nowhere.
35. To be on someone’s back teeth
Meaning: To be at the end of one’s patience or endurance.
In a Sentence: By the end of the group project, I was on my back teeth from all the last-minute changes and delays.
36. Smile with teeth showing
Meaning: To fake happiness or friendliness.
In a Sentence: He smiled with all his teeth showing, but I could tell he wasn’t actually happy to see me.
37. To chatter your teeth
Meaning: To shiver from cold or fear.
In a Sentence: My teeth were chattering from the freezing wind as we waited outside for the bus.
38. To be toothless (policy or rule)
Meaning: Lacking power or effectiveness.
In a Sentence: The dress code was completely toothless—no one followed it, and there were never any consequences.
39. To chew on something
Meaning: To think deeply about an idea or problem.
In a Sentence: I need some time to chew on your suggestion before I make a final decision.
40. To get your second teeth (figurative)
Meaning: To grow stronger or more capable after an early struggle.
In a Sentence: His startup got its second teeth after a rough first year, and now it’s thriving.
41. To show some bite
Meaning: To demonstrate assertiveness or boldness.
In a Sentence: Her writing finally showed some bite, with strong opinions and clear arguments that stood out.
42. To have no teeth left in something
Meaning: When something has lost all its power or impact.
In a Sentence: After being watered down so many times, the original plan had no teeth left and was totally ineffective.
43. To pick food from your teeth (figurative)
Meaning: To deal with small lingering problems or annoyances.
In a Sentence: We were done with the main issues, just picking food from our teeth now with these minor edits.
44. To get your teeth into someone
Meaning: To harshly criticize or confront someone.
In a Sentence: The coach really got his teeth into the team after their sloppy performance in the first half.
45. To leave teeth marks (figurative)
Meaning: To make a lasting impression, often a harsh or intense one.
In a Sentence: Her powerful speech left teeth marks on everyone who heard it—it was raw, honest, and unforgettable.
46. To show pearly whites
Meaning: To smile brightly, often charmingly.
In a Sentence: He flashed his pearly whites at the interviewer and confidently answered every question with ease.
47. Teeth chattering with rage
Meaning: Shaking or trembling from intense anger.
In a Sentence: She stood outside the principal’s office, her teeth chattering with rage after being wrongly accused.
48. To talk someone’s teeth off
Meaning: To talk excessively, often in a way that tires or overwhelms the listener.
In a Sentence: He talked my teeth off about his weekend, and I could barely get a word in edgewise.
49. Bite with no teeth
Meaning: Making a threat or rule that lacks real consequences.
In a Sentence: That detention threat had bite with no teeth—everyone knew the teacher wouldn’t actually follow through.
50. To wear your teeth out
Meaning: To exhaust yourself through constant complaining or effort.
In a Sentence: You’re going to wear your teeth out stressing over every little assignment—just do your best and move on.
Quizzes About The Idioms in the Article
Quiz 1: By the Skin of Your Teeth
What does “by the skin of your teeth” mean?
a) Losing something painfully
b) Succeeding very narrowly
c) Smiling broadly
d) Cleaning your teeth quickly
Quiz 2: Armed to the Teeth
What does it mean to be “armed to the teeth”?
a) To be eating too much
b) To be fully equipped or prepared
c) To wear fake teeth
d) To be extremely aggressive
Quiz 3: Lie Through Your Teeth
What is the meaning of “lie through your teeth”?
a) To whisper a lie
b) To lie boldly and shamelessly
c) To tell a secret
d) To gossip quietly
Quiz 4: Sweet Tooth
What does it mean if someone has a “sweet tooth”?
a) They have dental problems
b) They like spicy food
c) They love sweet foods and desserts
d) They brush too often
Quiz 5: Grit Your Teeth
When would someone “grit their teeth”?
a) When smiling genuinely
b) When preparing for bedtime
c) When enduring a hard or painful experience
d) When eating candy
Quiz 6: To Pull Teeth
What does “to pull teeth” mean figuratively?
a) To get braces removed
b) To have a toothache
c) To do something extremely difficult
d) To chew gum
Quiz 7: To Be Long in the Tooth
If someone is “long in the tooth,” what does it mean?
a) They have big teeth
b) They’re very experienced
c) They are young and fresh
d) They love dental jokes
Quiz 8: Set Your Teeth on Edge
What does “set your teeth on edge” describe?
a) A relaxing sensation
b) Something soothing
c) Something irritating or unpleasant
d) A dental treatment
Quiz 9: Sink Your Teeth Into Something
What does it mean to “sink your teeth into something”?
a) To avoid a difficult task
b) To quit early
c) To enjoy or work hard at a task
d) To get a dental procedure
Quiz 10: To Be Toothless
What does it mean if a rule is “toothless”?
a) It has no power or effect
b) It is very strict
c) It’s about dental care
d) It has lots of loopholes
Answers:
- b
- b
- b
- c
- c
- c
- b
- c
- c
- a
Conclusion
Teeth may be a small part of our bodies, but in language, they pack a mighty punch. These idioms about teeth cover everything from effort and honesty to anger and determination. Whether you’re gritting your teeth or lying through them, these expressions help us describe life’s experiences in colorful, creative ways.
So next time you feel like complaining, impress someone with a pearly-white idiom instead—you’ll sound sharp and smile even sharper.