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like pulling teeth

Idioms  

  1. Very difficult, especially to extract information from someone. For example, It's like pulling teeth to get a straight answer from him.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Now, it’s like pulling teeth to get a shark film with more than one decent creature shot — the 300 razor-sharp teeth of a great white, to be exact.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2025

As you might imagine, interviewing Lawrence and Vaughn isn’t like pulling teeth.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024

“It’s like pulling teeth talking to these guys. ‘What would I get?’

From Washington Times • Dec. 7, 2023

“It’s like pulling teeth to get anything there.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2023

It was like pulling teeth to get me and Bobby Gene to play ball.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.