Out of the jaws of death

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Out of the jaws of death

Meaning

Saved from great danger.

Origin

The figurative phrases 'the gates of death' and 'the jaws of death' refer to the approach to danger or death. The earliest citation I can find to 'the jaws of death' is in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, 1601.

ANTONIO:
Let me speak a little. This youth that you see here
I snatch'd one half out of the jaws of death,
Relieved him with such sanctity of love,
And to his image, which methought did promise
Most venerable worth, did I devotion.

See other phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.