{"id":743,"date":"2025-11-05T23:59:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/?p=743"},"modified":"2025-11-05T23:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:59:39","slug":"escaped-hell-by-the-skin-of-my-teeth-semiotic-systems-and-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/archives\/743","title":{"rendered":"Escaped Hell by the Skin of my Teeth: Semiotic Systems and Context"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cUh- Just the usual. Totally wing it, risk life and limb escape <\/strong>by the skin of my teeth<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d – Gnomeo & Juliet <\/em>(2011) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one imagines \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d, literally, a visceral image can be imagined. Usually, it is not taken as a literal term and is only used as an idiom to describe something else. The saying \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d is usually spoken as an expression to describe a narrow escape. However, this idiom is only the latest iteration in the evolution of the term. The original term \u201cI escaped with only the skin of my teeth\u201d was first used in the Bible, in the passage Job 19:20, where he was left with only himself and gained nothing. \u201cBy the skin of my teeth\u201d and other idioms pertain to the study of semiotic systems, systems of signs and symbols (language), which can apply Roland Barthes\u2019 concept of denotation and connotation in semiotic systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denotation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Roland Barthes\u2019 book Elements of Semiology<\/em>, Barthes describes denotation as the literal; recognizable images that consist of the literal object. Thus, when using the idiom \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d as something literal, one may imagine an image like this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[imagine a photo of a layer of skin over a set of teeth]<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
image created by Bridghet Wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Gross, right? For Barthes, denotation was the first step in a semiotic system of a two part model which describes a transformation of messages (Griffin, 2012).  A denotation is a single-step process from an object to its literal meaning, the signifier to the signified. It is a sign that requires a minimal amount of context to understand. This object is called \u201can apple\u201d and it is accepted. However, it starts to get more complicated when the literal words start to mean something different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connotation <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connotations are the second part of Barthes\u2019 two-part model, where the already signified object is reinterpreted as a signifier, which ultimately makes a sign (Griffin 2012). In other words, there are initial signs that are literal, which mean the definitional meaning of the signified, and signs that represent a meaning in the actual-use of life. This is the progression of denotations and connotations. Therefore, when the term \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d is used, it is not about gums, but it is about a narrow escape. The different meaning is a result of overlapping perspectives that a semiotic system, of which a community has in common, provides. One cannot differentiate a literal meaning of a term versus an ironic one, unless there is context that provides the knowledge to know how to differentiate the two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systems of Context <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the process where detonations become connotations? The Bible depicts the tale of Job, a righteous man that lives a privileged life. It is not until Satan challenges God to test Job\u2019s faith, where Job loses everything. Through the trials, Job has lost his wealth, his health, and his community around him. Job pleads with God that he has nothing left to give. \u201cI am nothing but skin and bones. I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth (Job 19:20).\u201d \u201cSkin\u201d is defined by Merriam-Webster\u2019s Dictionary as \u201can outer covering or surface layer.\u201d Teeth, notably, do not have an outer layer, and if they did it would be so thin it would be unnoticeable. Therefore, the skin of his teeth meant Job had nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is no event that can be pinpointed when and where the Bible verse of Job became an idiom, there are theoretical processes that could explain how the term\u2019s new meaning came to be. The Henry Ford Museum defines an idiom as \u201cnon-literal expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the true meaning of its individual words (2022).\u201d As it has been stated, the origin of \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d originated from Job, and the new meaning means to escape by a narrow margin. So, it can be assumed that a community used that term in the context of an escape where the chances of success had a margin of almost nothing. It must have been a community because as stated in class lecture, a language of one is not a language at all. This is because, if only one person speaks a language then it is not a shared system of communication that is used to mediate signs to others. Therefore,  \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d is most likely a term that was popularized by others because of the perpetual use, thus changing the meaning from the origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roland Barthes\u2019 two-part model of the analysis of semiotic systems reveals that denotations invoke the creation of connotations. Communities take literal meanings of signs and use them in the context of their own culture and events, resulting in new meanings. Semiotic systems are systems which are ingrained in a society\u2019s lives, signs and symbols are actively used and manipulated to fit in certain contexts in the pragmatics of a society. The only way to understand those pragmatics is to understand the context of that system. If one is not a part of a system, then they cannot make use of it. However, one does not need to know the origins of a sign or symbol, there just needs to be the context of how it is used in that system. To use \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d as an example once more, many people hear this term in daily-life or in pop culture and understand what is being referred to in that conversation. Not as many people know that term had originated in the Bible. Certainly, this illustrates that it is how the term is used in the semiotic system that one is privy to, where it actually carries meaning. Ultimately, showing the evolution of denotations and connotations and how they are used in a person\u2019s everyday life and solidified in the pragmatics of a society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citations <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology<\/em>. Translated by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith, Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring the Origins of Idioms<\/em>. Henry Ford Museum, 25 February, 2022, https:\/\/www.thehenryford.org\/explore\/blog\/exploring-the-origins-of-idioms\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gnomeo & Juliet. <\/em>Directed by Kelly Asbury, Walt Disney Studios, 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Griffin, E.M. \u201cSemiotics of Roland Barthes.\u201d A First Look at Communication Theory. <\/em>8th ed., McGraw Hill, 2012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cskin.\u201d Merriam-Webster.com. <\/em>2011. https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/skin (5 November, 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible. <\/em>International Children\u2019s Bible, 1981.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feature image is from Gnomeo & Juliet<\/em> (2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cUh- Just the usual. Totally wing it, risk life and limb escape by the skin of my teeth.\u201d – Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)  If one imagines \u201cby the skin of my teeth\u201d, literally, a visceral image can be imagined. Usually, it is not taken as a literal term and is only used as an idiom … Continue reading Escaped Hell by the Skin of my Teeth: Semiotic Systems and Context<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103005,"featured_media":744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[144,11,8,141,140,142,143],"class_list":["post-743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-idioms","tag-language","tag-media-theory","tag-semiotic-systems","tag-semiotics","tag-signs","tag-symbols"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":746,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions\/746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mdia300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}