tooth, fang, and claw
- idiom
- Literature
:
con uñas y dientes
- The activists fought tooth, fang, and claw to protect the endangered forest.
Examples
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She defended her beliefs tooth, fang, and claw during the heated debate.
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The team defended their title tooth, fang, and claw.
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He held onto his position in the company tooth, fang, and claw against all opposition.
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She fought tooth, fang, and claw for her rights!
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The activists fought tooth, fang, and claw to protect the endangered forest.
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She defended her beliefs tooth, fang, and claw during the heated debate.
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He held onto his position in the company tooth, fang, and claw against all opposition.
Synonyms
19
5.8
You try very hard and do not give up
12
5.6
In a very strong and angry way
1
7.8
To fight very hard and often unfairly to win
How Aggressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally names weapons of animals (tooth, fang, claw), so a learner who knows those words can infer a sense of violent, animal-like fighting; however the expression is a conventional metaphorical formula rather than a fully literal description. Because the meaning is a figurative extension that may require familiarity with the idiomatic stock phrase, it is only partially predictable to B1 learners.
Etymology
The phrase tooth, fang, and claw gives a picture of a wild animal using its tooth, fang, and claw to fight and hold on. That's why it means 'to fight fiercely' or to defend something with strong determination.