🗓️ Idiom: Cut Your Teeth
💬 Meaning
- To gain your first experience in a particular job or activity, especially early in your career.
- It refers to developing initial skills or learning through hands-on experience.
🧠 Example Sentences
- She cut her teeth in a small startup before moving to a major corporation.
- Many successful leaders cut their teeth in customer service roles.
- He cut his teeth in sales and gradually worked his way up to regional manager.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase originally referred to babies whose teeth are coming through for the first time. It later evolved into a metaphor for gaining early experience or starting out in a field.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
He __________ his teeth as a junior analyst before becoming a team leader.
Answer
cut
2. Choose the correct meaning of “cut your teeth”:
A) To become fully qualified
B) To gain initial experience in a field
C) To criticize someone harshly
Answer
B) To gain initial experience in a field
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“He gained his first experience in marketing at a small firm.” → Change the sentence using: cut your teeth
Answer
He cut his teeth in marketing at a small firm.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 HR and Recruitment Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
