| Li: | Hi, I'm Li, and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm here today with Jen. |
| Jennifer: | Hi! |
| Li: | You look a little ... flustered? Are you ok? |
| Jennifer: | I woke up late and had to run to the train station. There's only one train an hour. I ran all the way there and made it by the skin of my teeth, just as the doors were closing. Phew! Is there any coffee ... ? |
| Li: | Hang on ... how did your teeth help you to run for the train? |
| Jennifer: | Sorry? |
| Li: | You said "I made it by the skin of my teeth." I've got to see this! Show me your teeth! When did they grow skin? |
| Jennifer: | There's no skin on my teeth. That would be disgusting. Yuck. |
| Li: | So what did you mean? |
| Jennifer: | If you do something 'by the skin of your teeth' it means that you did it by a narrow margin—so you just managed to do it, or almost failed. |
| Li: | So, if you got to the train by the skin of your teeth, it means that you nearly missed it? |
| Jennifer: | That's exactly right. Let's hear some more examples of the phrase in action: |
| Li: | So when you just manage to do something, you can say you did it by the skin of your teeth? |
| Jennifer: | That's it. |
| Li: | That's a really funny phrase. I like it. |
| Jennifer: | It's good to be able to get your teeth into English phrases like this. |
| Li: | My teeth? What about my teeth? |
| Jennifer: | It's just another phrase, silly. If you get your teeth into something, it means that you become really involved in it. |
| Li: | Well in that case, I do love getting my teeth into a new phrase ... Teeth ... hang on ... Oh no! I've just remembered, I have a dentist's appointment at twelve o'clock—it's ten to twelve now, I'll never make it! |
| Jennifer: | You go, I'll finish the programme—if you run you might make it, but by the skin of your teeth! |
| Li: | Thanks Jen—bye ... |
| Jennifer: | Join us again for another edition of The English We Speak and visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Bye! |
