bare one's teeth

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, show one's teeth . Indicate hostility and readiness to fight, as in His refusal to accept my offer made it clear I'd have to bare my teeth , or In this instance, calling in a lawyer is showing one's teeth . This figurative term transfers the snarl of a dog to human anger. It first was recorded as show one's teeth in 1615.

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April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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