by the skin of one's teeth
かろうじて
解説 Definition
非常にぎりぎりのところで辛うじて成功や脱出を果たすこと。間一髪で切り抜ける。
By the skin of one's teeth means only just succeeding or escaping, with almost no margin. It is used when something happens in a very close or risky way.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
barely だけでは足りない、“危機をすれすれで切り抜けた”場面専用の強い表現として覚えると残りやすいです。試験に受かる、締切に間に合う、事故を免れるなど、失敗・危険が目前だった文脈と結びつけるのがコツ。just managed to... や narrowly escaped に近いですが、by the skin of one's teeth のほうがより劇的で、「成功したが余裕は完全にゼロ」という感じ。one's は my / his / her などに入れ替わる形でも一緒に覚えると実戦で使いやすくなります。
Treat this as a dramatic version of `barely`. The key memory is not teeth, but the idea of almost failing and escaping by the smallest possible amount. It fits exams, deadlines, and narrow escapes especially well.
例文
He passed the final exam by the skin of his teeth, scoring just one point above the passing grade.
彼は合格点をわずか1点上回り、かろうじて期末試験に受かった。
We caught the last train by the skin of our teeth — the doors closed right behind us.
私たちはかろうじて終電に間に合った。ドアがすぐ後ろで閉まった。
The team won by the skin of their teeth, securing the victory in the final seconds of the game.
チームは試合の最後の数秒で勝利を確定し、かろうじて勝った。
by the skin of one's teeth の類義語・関連語
by the skin of one's teeth の語源・成り立ち Etymology
英語成句で、聖書ヨブ記の skin of my teeth に由来し、skin は古英語、tooth は印欧祖語 dent- にさかのぼる。歯には本来皮がないのに「その皮一枚で助かる」と言う逆説が効き、dental や dentist を知ると「かろうじて」が強く残る。
This idiom comes from the Bible, especially the phrase skin of my teeth in the Book of Job. Skin is from Old English, and tooth is also very old, related to the root seen in dental and dentist. Because teeth do not really have skin, the phrase sounded strongly paradoxical, which helped it develop the meaning of escaping by the smallest possible margin.
外部辞書で調べる
この単語を英単語クイズで覚えよう