pasar por los pelos

USAGE NOTE
This idiom may be literally translated as "to pass by the hair."
pasar por los pelos
An intransitive verb phrase is a phrase that combines a verb with a preposition or other particle and does not require a direct object (e.g., Everybody please stand up.).
intransitive verb phrase
1.
An idiom is a phrase with a meaning different from the literal meaning of the separate words that make it up (e.g., break a leg).
(idiom)
(to only just succeed or go through)
a. to scrape through
¿Aprobaste el examen? - Sí, pasé por los pelos.Did you pass your exam? - Yes, I scraped through.
b. to scrape by
¿Cómo fue el examen? - Pasé por los pelos.How did your exam go? - I scraped by.
c. to pass by the skin of one's teeth
An idiom is a phrase with a meaning different from the literal meaning of the separate words that make it up (e.g., break a leg).
(idiom)
Lucía pasó la prueba por los pelos.Lucía passed the test by the skin of her teeth.
d.
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
no direct translation
Sarapova pasó por los pelos a la siguiente ronda.Sarapova scraped by to make it to the next round.
¿Cabrá este sofá por la puerta? - Sí, yo creo que pasa por los pelos.Will the couch go through the door? - Yeah, I think it’ll fit, but just barely.
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