What is "tooth and nail"

Tooth \Tooth\ (t[=oo]th), n.; pl. Teeth (t[=e]th). [OE. toth,tooth, AS. t[=o][eth]; akin to OFries. t[=o]th, OS. & D. tand, OHG. zang, zan, G. zahn, Icel. t["o]nn, Sw. & Dan. tand, Goth. tumpus, Lith. dantis, W. dant, L. dens, dentis, Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, Skr. danta; probably originally the p. pr. of the verb to eat. [root]239. Cf. Eat, Dandelion, Dent the tooth of a wheel, Dental, Dentist, Indent, Tine of a fork, Tusk. ]

1. (Anat.) One of the hard, bony appendages which are borne on the jaws, or on other bones in the walls of the mouth or pharynx of most vertebrates, and which usually aid in the prehension and mastication of food.

   Note: The hard parts of teeth are principally made up of dentine, or ivory, and a very hard substance called enamel. These are variously combined in different animals. Each tooth consist of three parts, a crown, or body, projecting above the gum, one or more fangs imbedded in the jaw, and the neck, or intermediate part. In some animals one or more of the teeth are modified into tusks which project from the mouth, as in both sexes of the elephant and of the walrus, and in the male narwhal. In adult man there are thirty-two teeth, composed largely of dentine, but the crowns are covered with enamel, and the fangs with a layer of bone called cementum. Of the eight teeth on each half of each jaw, the two in front are incisors, then come one canine, cuspid, or dog tooth, two bicuspids, or false molars, and three molars, or grinding teeth. The milk, or temporary, teeth are only twenty in number, there being two incisors, one canine, and two molars on each half of each jaw. The last molars, or wisdom teeth, usually appear long after the others, and occasionally do not appear above the jaw at all.

   How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is To have a thankless child!
   --Shak.

2. Fig.: Taste; palate.

   These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth.
   --Dryden.

3. Any projection corresponding to the tooth of an animal, in shape, position, or office; as, the teeth, or cogs, of a cogwheel; a tooth, prong, or tine, of a fork; a tooth, or the teeth, of a rake, a saw, a file, a card.

4. 1. A projecting member resembling a tenon, but fitting into a mortise that is only sunk, not pierced through.

   2. One of several steps, or offsets, in a tusk. See Tusk.

5. (Nat. Hist.) An angular or prominence on any edge; as, a tooth on the scale of a fish, or on a leaf of a plant; specifically (Bot.), one of the appendages at the mouth of the capsule of a moss. See Peristome.

6. (Zo["o]l.) Any hard calcareous or chitinous organ found in the mouth of various invertebrates and used in feeding or procuring food; as, the teeth of a mollusk or a starfish. In spite of the teeth, in defiance of opposition; in opposition to every effort. In the teeth, directly; in direct opposition; in front. ``Nor strive with all the tempest in my teeth.'' --Pope. To cast in the teeth, to report reproachfully; to taunt or insult one with. Tooth and nail, as if by biting and scratching; with one's utmost power; by all possible means. --L'Estrange. ``I shall fight tooth and nail for international copyright.'' --Charles Reade. Tooth coralline (Zo["o]l.), any sertularian hydroid. Tooth edge, the sensation excited in the teeth by grating sounds, and by the touch of certain substances, as keen acids. Tooth key, an instrument used to extract teeth by a motion resembling that of turning a key. Tooth net, a large fishing net anchored. [Scot.] --Jamieson. Tooth ornament. (Arch.) Same as Dogtooth, n., 2. Tooth powder, a powder for cleaning the teeth; a dentifrice. Tooth rash. (Med.) See Red-gum,

   1. To show the teeth, to threaten. ``When the Law shows her teeth, but dares not bite.''
      --Young.

      To the teeth, in open opposition; directly to one's face. ``That I shall live, and tell him to his teeth .''
      --Shak.

adv. (context idiomatic English) vicious; with all one's strength or power; without hold back. alt. (context idiomatic English) vicious; with all one's strength or power; without hold back.

adv. with force and ferocity; "she fought tooth and nail"

Tooth and Nail is a 1992 crime novel by Ian Rankin, originally entitled Wolfman. It is the third of the Inspector Rebus novels.

Tooth and Nail is a 2007 horror film written, directed and edited by Mark Young, about a group of people in a post-apocalyptic world who must fight to survive against a band of vicious cannibals.

Tooth and Nail is a seminal compilation album featuring six early Californian punk rock bands: the Controllers, the Flesh Eaters, U.X.A., Negative Trend, Middle Class, and the Germs.

Tooth and Nail is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on September 13, 1984 through Elektra Records. After the unsuccessful release of the band's debut album in the US, the record label was reluctant to give credit to Dokken for a follow-up. Dokken's management struggled to convince the label's executives to give the band another chance and this fight for recognition is reflected in the album's title. This album was the group's first with bassist Jeff Pilson following Juan Croucier's departure to join Ratt.

The production of the album was entrusted to renowned producer Tom Werman, but the recordings were hampered by the clash of egos between vocalist Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch, who could not work together in a studio at the same time, and by the excesses of musicians and technicians. For these reasons, Werman was unable to carry on his work and quit the job after a few weeks, replaced by Roy Thomas Baker and Michael Wagner, who completed the recordings and mixed the album. The music of the album ranges from fast and aggressive tracks to pop and melodic ballads, representing a transition from classic heavy metal to the more commercial glam metal.

'' Tooth and Nail'' received positive reviews but was a slow seller, reaching the peak of No. 49 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and Gold status more than ten months after its release, on the wake of the success of the single " Alone Again" and of its accompanying music video. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 1989, after both Under Lock and Key (1985) and Back for the Attack (1987) had achieved such status.

Tooth and Nail may refer to:

• Tooth and Nail (various artists album), a 1979 compilation album featuring Californian punk rock bands, produced by the L.A.-based label Upsetter Records.
• Tooth and Nail (Dokken album), a 1984 album by heavy metal band Dokken, and a song from that album.
• Tooth & Nail (Billy Bragg album), a 2013 album by Billy Bragg
• "Tooth and Nail", a 1984 song by Foreigner from the album Agent Provocateur
• Tooth and Nail (novel), a 1992 novel by Ian Rankin
• Tooth & Nail Records, a record label founded in 1993
• Tooth and Nail (film), a 2007 horror film
• Tooth and nail syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by nails that are thin, small, and friable