throw your hat in the ring, leave the nest, be out of the woods, by the skin of your teeth, put your foot in your mouth: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 idioms from Idioms set 77. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. throw your hat in the ring · idiom/θroʊ jʊr hæt ɪn ðə rɪŋ/

   to officially announce that you’re entering a competition or opportunity

   After years of working in politics, he finally decided to throw his hat in the ring and run for office.

   Origin: From 19th-century American boxing — tossing your hat into the ring publicly accepted a fight challenge.

2. leave the nest · idiom/liv ðə nɛst/

   to become independent and start life on your own

   Now that she has a full-time job, she’s ready to leave the nest and get her own apartment.

   Origin: From nature — birds finally fly from their nest when grown, comparable to children leaving the family home.

3. be out of the woods · idiom/bi aʊt əv ðə wʊdz/

   to be safe from danger or difficulty

   The surgery went well, but he’s not out of the woods yet—he still needs time to recover.

   Origin: From the 1700s — once out of dark forests with wolves and bandits, ancient travelers were finally safe.

4. by the skin of your teeth · idiom/baɪ ðə skɪn əv jʊr tiθ/

   just barely succeeding or escaping a bad situation

   I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth—I barely made the cutoff score.

   Origin: From the Bible (Job 19:20) — Job escaped death so narrowly that he kept only the thin layer covering his teeth.

5. put your foot in your mouth · idiom/pʊt jʊr fʊt ɪn jʊr maʊθ/

   to say something inappropriate or embarrassing

   I really put my foot in my mouth when I asked her about her job, not knowing she had been fired.

   Origin: A 20th-century image — saying something so embarrassing that the speaker wishes to physically eat the words back.