Sink your teeth into something (idioms #4)

Sink your teeth into usually precedes a noun, which may or may not be something edible.

Typically, to sink your teeth into something is to really muster your powers and/or energy either to understand something or to get a good grip mentally, emotionally, and perhaps even physically of something. Similar idioms include digging deep as in digging deep for the solution.

i.e. She finally sank her teeth into the crux of the problem and was able to find a resolution that satisfied both parties.

On the other hand, to sink your teeth into something may also imply having a rather voracious appetite, and consequently the quick and plunging sinking of your teeth into whatever food hits the spot.

i.e. My sister sank her teeth into the brussel sprouts (weird), while my brother sank his teeth into durian fruit (weirder).

Durians. Spiky, eh?

Hedgehogs. Cute, right?

Dur-hog or Hedge-ian, otherwise known as a Durian-Hedgehog hybrid. (weirdest)

Eric

Tooth and nail (idioms #3)

Tooth and nail usually follows the word fight or some similar verb.

To fight tooth and nail is to fight with all your might, almost viciously. This comes from the idea of fighting with all your teeth and all of your nails, which I guess would be a fair idea if you had sharp fangs or piercing claws.

i.e. She valiantly fought tooth and nail at CVS for that last box of Crest Whitestrips, but her recently manicured claws and braces-decorated-teeth prevented her success.

My thinking is that fighting tooth and nail implies someone really duking it out without restraint (and manners, duh), invoking something rather primal and beast-like. Thus tooth and nail would bode quite well if you had foot-long tusks or the fangs of a sabertooth tiger.

Alas we're humans and should probably only fight tooth and nail with other humans.

An intelligent individual realizing that fighting tooth and nail with this creature would probably be a bad idea.

Photo cred to the movie, 10,000 BC! (An interesting movie to say the least!)

Eric

By the skin of your teeth (idioms #1)

To do something by the skin of your teeth is to barely achieve or accomplish something almost to the point of failure.

i.e. She may have passed the first midterm of organic chemistry by the skin of her teeth, but only divine intervention can save her butt on tomorrow's final!

Not surprisingly organic chemistry is an infamous right of passage for many a spirited or disenfranchised pre-dental and pre-med student, but even more (un)shockingly, human teeth don't actually have skin.

!!!

That's right folks! The tooth consists of FOUR major tissues, none of which is the epidermis.

Here they are:

1) Tooth enamel - the visible part of your tooth. Can range from brown to yellow to grayish-white in color. Also the hardest part of your body!
2) Dentin - found underneath the enamel but surrounds the pulp. Most of a tooth is composed of this stuff.
3) Pulp - the center part of the tooth. Consists of nerves and living connective tissue. A root canal removes this stuff.
4) Cementum - covers the root/non-visible part of your teeth.



Thanks to the NIH for the hot pic

Eric