in the teeth of the wind
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
With the wind dead against one, blowing in or against the teeth. To strive with all the tempest in my teeth.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “in the teeth of the wind” mean?
With the wind dead against one, blowing in or against the teeth. To strive with all the tempest in my teeth.
Is “in the teeth of the wind” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.