put teeth in(to) something

put teeth in(to) something
give teeth to something & put teeth in(to) something
Fig. to make something powerful; to give something a real effect. •

The severe penalty really gives teeth to the law.

Strong enforcement puts teeth in the regulation.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • put teeth into something — put teeth into (something) to make a law or rule effective. The threat of fines and jail put real teeth into the laws regulating how and where children can work …   New idioms dictionary

  • put teeth into — (something) to make a law or rule effective. The threat of fines and jail put real teeth into the laws regulating how and where children can work …   New idioms dictionary

  • put out — verb 1. to cause inconvenience or discomfort to (Freq. 2) Sorry to trouble you, but... • Syn: ↑trouble, ↑inconvenience, ↑disoblige, ↑discommode, ↑incommode, ↑bother …   Useful english dictionary

  • put under — verb administer an anesthetic drug to The patient must be anesthetized before the operation anesthetize the gum before extracting the teeth • Syn: ↑anesthetize, ↑anaesthetize, ↑anesthetise, ↑anaesthetise, ↑put out …   Useful english dictionary

  • To set one's teeth — Set Set (s[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Set}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Setting}.] [OE. setten, AS. setton; akin to OS. settian, OFries. setta, D. zetten, OHG. sezzen, G. setzen, Icel. setja, Sw. s[ a]tta, Dan. s?tte, Goth. satjan; causative from the root… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To set the teeth on edge — Set Set (s[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Set}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Setting}.] [OE. setten, AS. setton; akin to OS. settian, OFries. setta, D. zetten, OHG. sezzen, G. setzen, Icel. setja, Sw. s[ a]tta, Dan. s?tte, Goth. satjan; causative from the root… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • get your teeth into something — informal phrase to put a lot of your time and energy into something that is interesting because it needs a lot of effort and skill I’d like a project that I can really get my teeth into. Thesaurus: to try hard to do or get somethingsynonym… …   Useful english dictionary

  • And Now for Something Completely Different — DVD cover Directed by Ian MacNaughton Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • To put to the rack — Rack Rack, n. [Probably fr. D. rek, rekbank, a rack, rekken to stretch; akin to G. reck, reckbank, a rack, recken to stretch, Dan. r[ae]kke, Sw. r[ a]cka, Icel. rekja to spread out, Goth. refrakjan to stretch out; cf. L. porrigere, Gr. ore gein.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To put the screw on — Screw Screw (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. [ e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.] 1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To put the screws on — Screw Screw (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. [ e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.] 1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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