# in our teeth



## TigerDaily

I read the phrase in a novel. The original sentence is "We are forty miles beyond Hao Island, and the wind is in our teeth."

The schooner wants to find a lagoon for a rest, but missed many islands because of the always shifting currents and winds on the Pacific Ocean. "Hao Island" is one of these missed islands.

I referred to the dictionary and only find "in the teeth of", but cannot find "in someone's teeth".

My translation: 风把我们吹向了与预期相反的位置。

Thanks for your answer.


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## retrogradedwithwind

A fuuny sentence.

the wind is in our teeth = the wind is in the teeth of us = we are in the teeth of the wind

The author chose a funny and unique way to express.

This is my opinion, maybe wrong.


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## Skatinginbc

"The wind is in our teeth" is probably an idiosyncratic expression of the  author.  It seems to mean "The wind is blowing hard in our faces".


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## TigerDaily

Thank you.
According to the dictionary,  in the teeth of something:if something happens or is done in the teeth of difficulties, the difficulties cause problems but do not stop it _The road was built in the teeth of fierce opposition from environmentalists._


> If the wind is in our teeth = the wind is in the teeth of us, then we hindered the wind but didn't stop it.
> I'm still confused……
> 
> 
> Skatinginbc said:
> 
> 
> 
> "The wind is in our teeth" is probably an idiosyncratic expression of the  author.  It seems to mean "The wind is blowing hard in our faces".
> 
> 
> 
> you mean, we are in the windward?
> 
> 
> retrogradedwithwind said:
> 
> 
> 
> A fuuny sentence.
> 
> the wind is in our teeth = the wind is in the teeth of us = we are in the teeth of the wind
> 
> The author chose a funny and unique way to express.
> 
> This is my opinion, maybe wrong.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Thank you.
> According to the dictionary, in the teeth of something:if something happens or is done in the teeth of difficulties, the difficulties cause problems but do not stop it _The road was built in the teeth of fierce opposition from environmentalists._
> 
> 
> 
> If the wind is in our teeth = the wind is in the teeth of us, then we hindered the wind but didn't stop it.
> I'm still confused……
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## retrogradedwithwind

Acording to the Collins

If you do something in the teeth of a difficulty or danger, you do it in spite of the difficulty or danger.

The author just expressed a situation where the wind hindered the schooner. It had nothing with the end of the attempts to dock at a lagoon to rest.

Skatinginbc may be right too. But we two eventually say the same thing.


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## Skatinginbc

TigerDaily said:


> you mean, we are in the windward?


Well, probably against the wind, but not necessarily.  Say, if you ride a motorcycle (or a schooner) really fast, you may feel like riding against the wind, no matter which way the wind is actually blowing.


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## 枫十二

TigerDaily said:


> I'm still confused……



I also think it simpply means : the wind is very strong.
And it is supported by the following context :With this breeze we can be there by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
My imagination:The wind is in our teeth ==> Then our mouth is full of wind.How strong the wind should be to make your mouth full of it?
Maybe you should start a thread in English Only.


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## Skatinginbc

Every time I stand at the foredeck of a boat, I feel like moving against  the wind (The wind is blowing in my face).  Once the boat enters the open sea, the wind becomes so strong that it is  hardly bearable.  I never know which way the wind is blowing because it is always blowing in my face.  That's my experience anyway.
My translation attempt: The wind is in my teeth 風吹得我齜牙咧嘴.


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## TigerDaily

枫十二 said:


> I also think it simpply means : the wind is very strong.
> And it is supported by the following context :With this breeze we can be there by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
> My imagination:The wind is in our teeth ==> Then our mouth is full of wind.How strong the wind should be to make your mouth full of it?
> Maybe you should start a thread in English Only.


Thank you! I will~


Skatinginbc said:


> Every time I stand at the foredeck of a boat, I feel like moving against  the wind (The wind is blowing in my face).  Once the boat enters the open sea, the wind becomes so strong that it is  hardly bearable.  I never know which way the wind is blowing because it is always blowing in my face.  That's my experience anyway.
> My translation attempt: The wind is in my teeth 風吹得我齜牙咧嘴.


The speaker is not likely to utter such words as "齜牙咧嘴" because he is a very gentle and decent navigator. 
"The following context is "But now that we know where we are, we can run for Barclay de Tolley. It is only one hundred and twenty miles from here, due nor'-nor'west. With this breeze we can be there by nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
So I think another explanation: The speaker is standing aft, and the wind blow against his face as wile as pushing the schooner forward (in the context is"nor'-nor'west"). 
I draw a draft and  you can see whether it's reasonable.


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## 枫十二

TigerDaily said:


> The speaker is not likely to utter such words as "齜牙咧嘴"



why do you think it is "utter"? I think 齜牙咧嘴 is the look on our faces. Here, I asked the same question in English only.But I failed to express "direction" clearly.Hope this will help. I still think it just means the wind is very strong,although "blowing in/into our faces" suggests the direction of  the wind(not coming from the back of us). But I understand Skatinginbc's oppnion:when the wind is too strong,it is very hard to distinguish its direction.And your drawing remind me that the direction of the wind also depends on which direction we are facing.
By the way:does 强风迎面吹来 help?


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## Skatinginbc

My point was: If they were moving faster than the wind, there would always be a current of air blowing into their faces.  However, that possibility is excluded if we look at the more extended context: 

_"I know where we are now, Captain," McCoy lowered the glasses from his eyes.  "That's Resolution Island.  We are forty miles beyond Halo Island, and the wind is in our teeth."
"Get ready to beach her then.  Where's the entrance?"
_
They already went forty miles past Halo Island and is close to Resolution Island.  The schooner is at the entrance of a deep cove and McCoy is conscious of the wind direction, so the speed of the schooner is unlikely a factor here.  "The wind is in our teeth" simply means 逆風撲面 (The wind is blowing against us).  It might not even be a strong wind because McCoy describes it as "breeze" (i.e., gentle wind).


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## brofeelgood

retrogradedwithwind said:


> A fuuny sentence.
> 
> the wind is in our teeth = the wind is in the teeth of us = we are in the teeth of the wind
> 
> The author chose a funny and unique way to express.
> 
> This is my opinion, maybe wrong.



I agree.

"in the teeth of the wind" or "in the eye of the wind" means sailing directly into the wind.

"The wind is in our teeth" is most likely a variation of the above.


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## Skatinginbc

brofeelgood said:


> "The wind is in our teeth" is most likely a variation of the above.


I agree.  It simply means they are sailing directly into the wind or against the wind.


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## 枫十二

retrogradedwithwind said:


> A fuuny sentence.
> 
> the wind is in the teeth of us = we are in the teeth of the wind


Gosh.It cost me a lot of efforts to understand this funny way.
Thank you all.Got it now.


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