by the skin on my teeth - what the hell does it mean?
 

I've heard this expression in a song and in a movie, never known what exactly it means. Can some tell me?

Thanks

just barely made it.

there is more than one way to skin a cat

You can't win for losing

the skin "of" my teeth, by the way, not "on"

"The source of the phrase "by the skin of one's teeth" is indeed the Book of Job, although the precise phrase Job used was "My bone cleaveth to my skin, and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth" (not "by"). Just what the "skin" of one's teeth might be is a bit unclear, but it probably refers to the thin porcelain exterior of the tooth, not the gums. Job evidently kept his teeth, but just barely. It is also possible that he was saying that the margin of his escape was as narrow as the "skin" of a tooth is shallow -- the equivalent of a "hair's breadth." In any case, Job clearly meant that he'd had a very hard time of it, and the phrase has been used ever since to mean a very narrow or arduous escape."

From http://www.word-detective.com/100297.html

Serious?? Didn't know that

Nice link man, thanks.

No problem. I love that site. Every time i hear an odd saying, i see if he's written about it. He sometimes gets extremlely in depth with his research. Very impressive!