to save one's skin
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To get off with one's life. To sell the skin before you have caught the bear. To count your chickens before they are hatched.
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 “to save one's skin” mean?
To get off with one's life. To sell the skin before you have caught the bear. To count your chickens before they are hatched.
Is “to save one's skin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.