dragon's teeth
Britishplural noun
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informal conical or wedge-shaped concrete antitank obstacles protruding from the ground in rows: used in World War II
-
to take some action that is intended to prevent strife or trouble but that actually brings it about
Etymology
Origin of dragon's teeth
sense 2 from the story of Cadmus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Both are protected by miles of deep anti-tank ditches filled with razor wire and concrete anti-tank obstacles known as "dragon's teeth".
From BBC
Sharp pieces of slate jut out threateningly against the wall of the house, which Ross described as being "like dragon's teeth".
From BBC
Long ditches lined with coils of razor wire and concrete pyramids known as dragon’s teeth await Russia’s increasingly rare armored attacks.
They run alongside raised banks of red earth, deep trenches and neat lines of anti-tank dragon's teeth concrete pyramids.
From BBC
In Ukraine's fourth summer of full-scale war the fields around Sumy are dotted with corn and sunflowers, not yet in bloom, and a crop of dragon's teeth - triangles of concrete which can stop tanks in their tracks.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
