tooth and nail

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See synonyms for tooth and nail on Thesaurus.com

adverb

with all one's resources or energy; fiercely: We fought tooth and nail but lost.

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

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Origin of tooth and nail

First recorded in 1525–35

Words nearby tooth and nail

tooshie, toot, tooth, toothache, toothache tree, tooth and nail, tooth ax, toothbrush, toothbrushing, tooth chisel, tooth decay

How to use tooth and nail in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Before anti-vaxxers, there were anti-fluoriders: a group who spread fear about the anti-tooth decay agent added to drinking water.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As a means of preventing tooth decay in those cities that do fluoridate, the practice certainly looks like a success.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But on Tuesday, we saw another nail hammered into the already pretty tightly nailed down coffin of the two-state solution.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead|Dean Obeidallah|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
They were eaten too quickly, in long gulps of four-and-twenty hours at a time.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He walked over to the table and mixed two tumblers of whiskey-and-soda, wondering why he had not thought of it before.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

Cultural definitions for tooth and nail

tooth and nail

To fight “tooth and nail” is to fight with the intensity and ferocity of a wild animal: “The resistance forces fought the invading troops tooth and nail.”

tooth and nail

Origin of tooth and nail

Words nearby tooth and nail

Words related to tooth and nail

How to use tooth and nail in a sentence

Cultural definitions for tooth and nail