by the skin of one's teeth
- 1By an extremely narrow margin; barely succeeding or escaping, with nothing to spare.
Like catching a closing elevator door with the tips of your fingers.
The home team won the championship by the skin of their teeth, scoring in the final seconds.
She made it out of the flooding basement by the skin of her teeth.
Note
An escape before it was anything else: the phrase comes from Job 19:20, where Job, his bones sticking to his skin and flesh, says he has escaped by the skin of his teeth. Today it fits any bare success, such as passing a test or making a tight train connection. The possessive follows the subject (by the skin of my, her, their teeth), and by a hair's breadth is its closest match.
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Origin
The phrase comes from the Bible, Job 19:20: "My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."