SKIN idioms (body idioms)

What is skin?

Skin is the thin layer of tissue that covers the whole body. The plural is ‘skins’, but we use the singular form to describe one’s skin.

For example:

Let’s look at some popular body idioms that contain the word ‘skin’.

by the skin of one’s teeth
meaning – by a very narrow margin
example – I thought I was going to be late for my interview, but I got there by the skin of my teeth.
couldn’t knock the skin off a rice pudding
meaning – wimpy/cowardly/weak
example – Gary said I couldn’t knock the skin off a rice pudding. I’ll show him in the ring.

have thick skin
meaning – you don’t easily get upset by criticism/insults
example – You need to be thick skinned if you want to become a politician.
jump out of one’s skin
meaning – something shocks/scares you very much
example – A huge spider ran across my leg. I nearly jumped out of my skin.
more than one way to skin a cat
meaning – there are many ways to accomplish a goal
example – I didn’t get tickets to the concert, but there is more than one way to skin a cat.
no skin off one’s nose
meaning – you don’t care if something happens or not
example – It’s no skin off my nose if you don’t pass your finals.

skin and bones
meaning – very thin and underweight
example – We found a sick dog on the street. He was skin and bones and infested with maggots.

skin someone alive
meaning – severely punish someone
example – I cracked the TV. My mum is going to skin me alive when she gets back.
skinflint
meaning – a person who hates spending money
example – My mum is such a skinflint, she won’t give me £1 for the charity cake sale.