Armed to the teeth

Forget all about sailors or pirates swinging aboard ships on ropes with knives or cutlasses in their teeth; this is not the origin, although Hollywood would have us believe it. To the teeth is an old expression dating from The Middle Ages meaning completely as in from head to toe. Thus, a person armed to the teeth would be carrying many weapons from head to toe. In this sense, the expression is similar to someone saying, “I’ve had it up to here,” indicating the general area of the neck or head. The eyes, the nose, the neck, the teeth have all been used to indicate the extent of a problem or situation. That is why we all generally like to keep our heads above water and are often up to our eyes and ears in difficulties.