tooth and claw
1
7.8
- idiom
- Literature
:
con todas sus fuerzas
- What's more, the animal kingdom—"nature red in tooth and claw," as Tennyson had it—echoes with the cries of those who came in second place in the struggle to survive.
Examples
-
The two companies competed tooth and claw for the lucrative contract, using every tactic available.
-
Hard to do since the American Trial Lawyers Association fights things like that tooth and claw.
Blog text (14) -
Total surveillance is the evolutionary endpoint whether we like it or not, or whether we embrace it or fight tooth and claw to prevent it.
Blog text (8) -
"They stared at each other for a long moment, like winter-starved bears fixing to tie in, tooth and claw."
Fiction book (2002) -
He described a fighter who came at him tooth and claw and absolutely refused to be killed, even after the soldier shot him, stabbed him, and beat him with the butt of his rifle.
Blog text (5) -
In the wild, animals often fight tooth and claw for territory and resources.
-
During the election campaign, the candidates fought tooth and claw to win the support of voters.
Synonyms
36
1.4
In a hard, violent way that shows no care
34
5.7
In a cruel and violent way
19
5.8
You try very hard and do not give up
Act in a very fierce and aggressive way when trying to keep or get something
Speaking or acting in a harsh, biting way
Antonyms
How Fierce
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal words 'tooth' and 'claw' clearly evoke animal weapons, so the image of a fierce, struggling fight is directly suggested and a learner who knows the constituents can infer a general sense of aggression or determined fighting. However, the phrase is a metaphorical idiom whose fuller nuance (e.g. 'by any means necessary' or legalistic/figurative uses) is not fully predictable from the parts, making it only partially compositional for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Tooth and claw comes from the image of wild animals fighting with tooth and claw, doing anything to win or survive. That's why the phrase now means 'a fierce and very determined struggle'.