З-202

СКВОЗЬ ЗУБЫ coll PrepP Invar adv

1. говорить, бормотать и т. п. - (to say, whisper etc sth. ) very softly and indistinctly

under one's breath

through one's teeth.

"А хорошо бы было...» - чуть слышно сквозь зубы сказал Римский (Булгаков 9). "Would be a good thing..." Rimsky muttered almost inaudibly through his teeth (9a).

2. процедить, проворчать и т. п. - (to utter sth. , grumble) with displeasure, angrily, or antagonistically, condescendingly

through (with) clenched teeth

through (between) one's teeth (in limited contexts) under one's breath.

И говорит он не сквозь зубы, не вынужденно. Он возбужден, он проводит литературные параллели, он художественно говорит (Войнович 3). And he wasn't speaking through his teeth, he wasn't being forced. He was excited, he was drawing literary parallels, he was speaking artistically (3a).

Её (мою сестру) нельзя было узнать... Слова цедит скозь зубы (Зиновьев 2). ( context transl ) She (my sister) was totally unrecognizable. She spat her words out (2a).