The phrase “armed to the teeth” originated from pirates in the 1600s who carried multiple loaded weapons, and has evolved to mean being prepared for any circumstance. Similar idioms include “covering all bases” in baseball and the Boy Scout motto “Be prepared.” The principle was first illustrated in a painting by Pieter Bruegel in 1559.
“Armed to the teeth” is one of many English sayings that can be traced back to the distant past. It is said to have originated in the era of oceanic piracy of the 1600s in the Caribbean Sea near nations such as Jamaica, where it first came into common use. At the time, guns were just adopting the invention of the flintlock, which occurred in the 1680s, and took a long time to reload after firing. Pirates, therefore, would carry several loaded weapons with them as they raided the ships, one in each hand and a knife clenched between their teeth. This is where the phrase “armed to the teeth” began, and meant someone who was powerfully equipped and ready for action.
The modern meaning of idiomatic expressions tends to retain elements of their original intent, but with connotations altered to fit current events and lifestyles. This particular idiom has gained wider use and can mean someone who is equipped for any potential circumstance they might face when traveling or dealing with unusual circumstances. Examples include having medication for any possible illnesses or financial resources for any possible setbacks.
Several other popular sayings have meanings related to “armed to the teeth” in contemporary cultures. One of the sports of American baseball is expressed as someone who “covers all his bases.” The famous motto of the American Boy Scout organization “Always be ready” or “Be prepared” is also similar and is attributed to the founder of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, who used the initials of his last name to formulate the phrase.
The first documented record of the principle of being “armed to the teeth” exists in the Proverbs of the Netherlands, an oil painting by Pieter Bruegel, completed in 1559. Bruegel was a Flemish painter of the period populating this particular work, as were many others of his own, with literal versions of idiomatic expressions of the day. This idiom’s illustration shows a man in metal armor holding a knife in his teeth. The figure was painted in the lower left corner of the painting and was one of dozens of figures in the work that were interpretations of proverbs of the time period. Though many of Bruegel’s exaggeratedly illustrated expressions have since fallen out of use by current Western culture, the painting itself is expertly preserved and on display in the Staatliche Museum, or group of state museums, in Berlin, Germany.
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