English Explanatory Dictionary

red in tooth and claw

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Characterized by uncaring, amoral ruthlessness or brutality, especially of a kind seen as reflecting the way of things in nature.

Word forms

red in tooth and claw

Etymology

From Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam A.H.H.

Related words

red-toothed tooth and nail Hobbesian law of nature law of the jungle natural law nature of the beast
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