Idioms — Set 77

Set 77 of Idioms covers 5 idioms: 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. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

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.