"barely holding on by my fingernails"?

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#161751 - 08/23/06 10:07 PM "barely holding on by my fingernails"?
callithump journeyman Registered: 09/10/04 Posts: 91	I'm translating a book named "the Psychology of Selling", in which there is a sentence: ----- But even though I hurried from prospect to prospect, and spoke louder and faster to each person, I was barely holding on by my fingernails. ----- Here, what does "barely holding on by my fingernails" mean? Does it mean to keep the prospect or to stay in the trade for a living? Looking forward to your help. Calli. _________________________ Do inform me if you see any corrections needed in my written English.
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#161752 - 08/23/06 11:02 PM Re: "barely holding on by my fingernails"?
Hydra addict Registered: 08/02/06 Posts: 631	I have never heard the idiom, supposing it is one, but the writer is describing an on-going struggle to keep one step ahead of failure. Imagine someone hanging from a cliff; they do not have a firm handgrip, but are hanging by their fingernails, and could fall at any moment. A more familiar expression to me is: Quote: by the skin of one's teeth by a very narrow margin; barely : I only got away by the skin of my teeth. [ORIGIN: from a misquotation of Job 19:20: “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth” (i.e., and nothing else). Current use reflects a different sense.] EDIT: Or, given the context: I was just scraping by I was just getting by I was barely managing I was circling the drain e.t.c. So, to answer your question, the writer means that he or she was able "to stay in the trade", but only just. Edited by Hydra (08/23/06 11:54 PM)
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#161753 - 08/24/06 02:16 AM Re: "barely holding on by my fingernails"?
callithump journeyman Registered: 09/10/04 Posts: 91	Thank you very much for your help, Hydra. Calli. _________________________ Do inform me if you see any corrections needed in my written English.
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#161754 - 08/24/06 01:46 PM Re: "barely holding on by my fingernails"?
Zed Pooh-Bah Registered: 08/27/02 Posts: 2154 Loc: British Columbia, Canada	An excellent definition Hydra.
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#161755 - 08/25/06 08:32 AM Re: "barely holding on by my fingernails"?
Aramis addict Registered: 05/17/05 Posts: 456 Loc: SE US	It does sound like the wider context of trying to 'stay afloat' in making a living. -It would be an improvement to stop typing things like "u" and "Pls"; not as if needed to save space and appears lazy.
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