Question:
Choose the word or phrase that is equivalent in meaning to the given phrase:
Fight tooth and nail
Choose the word or phrase that is equivalent in meaning to the given phrase:
Fight tooth and nail
Show Hint
"Tooth and nail" is figurative for intensity. Which option describes the effort rather than literal biting?
Updated On: Jul 21, 2026
- bite and scratch your enemy
- make a determined effort
- inflict equal damage
- pull out enemy's teeth and nails
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
"Fight tooth and nail" is an idiom meaning to struggle with great determination and using all one's energy and resources to achieve or resist something. It is not about literally biting or scratching; it is about fighting as hard as possible.
- make a determined effort is correct because fighting tooth and nail means putting in every ounce of effort and refusing to give up.
- bite and scratch your enemy is wrong because it takes "tooth and nail" literally instead of as a figure of speech for intensity.
- inflict equal damage is wrong because the idiom is about the strength of one's own effort, not about matching an opponent's harm.
- pull out enemy's teeth and nails is wrong because it invents a literal, violent action that the phrase never means.
So the phrase means to make a determined effort, option b.
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