Line #71 Main/CutlassBetweenTheTeeth


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10	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/applepirate_5603.png]]
11	[[caption-width-right:350: [[StealthPun ...See, this right here is how the whole bunch gets spoiled.]]]]
12	->''"Yes, this lad'd seen the idea in a book, and he swung across into the other ship's rigging with his cutlass clenched, as you say, between his teeth. ... 'Topless Harry', we wrote on his coffin. ... I don't know if you've ever seen a soft-boiled egg after you've picked up your knife and sliced?"''
13	-->-- ''Literature/{{Jingo}}''
14
15	Taking disregard for the old saying [[RunsWithScissors "Don't run with scissors"]] to a whole new level, the Cutlass Between the Teeth is the tendency for particularly badass characters to run around with the handle (or blade, if they're feeling really tough) of a sword or knife clenched between their teeth. Can have its uses--at most earning a free hand--but its true purpose is to make the character doing it [[RuleOfCool look even cooler]]. One would think you'd only attempt this on something whose blade has an edge on just ''one'' side…
16
17	A frequent tactic of fictional {{Pirates}}, who often need their hands free for swimming, climbing the rigging or swinging a rope for a BoardingParty.
18
19	Obviously not TruthInTelevision (anymore, anyway). As you can imagine, biting down on a hard and thin piece of metal is not very comfortable on your teeth. Not to mention you'd have to worry about dropping the damn thing while running and jumping around in combat -- a hard object (tooth) holding a hard object (blade) gives a poor grip. Oh, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and]] [[GlasgowGrin slicing the edges of your mouth]] comes to mind too, if the blade is double-edged. It's marginally better (although just as useless) to hold the hilt this way, provided it's not too big (forget about it if it's a cutlass).
20
21	Compare NowThatsUsingYourTeeth and HandyMouth. Not to be confused with MetalMuncher, which refers to creatures that feed on metal.
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* In ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', Nagisa does this with a combat knife while he limbers up before facing [[spoiler:Takaoka]]. It's become one of his trademark poses, both within the show's art and fan art.
29	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' probably gives a very gruesome take on this trope, as the Rogue Titan bites the neck of another Titan and [[GrievousHarmWithABody uses it to attack other Titans in the vicinity]].
30	* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is not only big on using his teeth to stop enemy attacks, but he also uses them so that he may use his own weapons when his own two hands are incapable of doing so. Also just a reminder, the handle of the weapon he's biting his teeth down on just to swing around? It's the '''[[{{BFS}} DRAGONSLAYER]]'''.
31	* Roberta from ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. What makes it so awesome is that she ''caught someone ELSE'S thrown knife'' between her teeth, then ''bit it in two''.
32	* In the 70s series of ''Anime/CuteyHoney'', Honey does this from time to time when she needs her hands free. Naturally, she does it in the one episode where she takes on the form of a pirate.
33	* [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] in the first episode of ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries'' has Ivory, one of his ''guns'', in his mouth. Justified, as one hand was shooting with Ebony (his other gun), the other hand was filleting with his sword, and he's [[HalfHumanHybrid half-devil]].
34	* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Wrath gets his arms blasted off and his sword broken into pieces, but still manages to catch the weapon's blade between his teeth and stab his enemy in the stomach with it [[DefiantToTheEnd before collapsing]].
35	** Ling also does this while picking up an injured Lan Fan, and later on while helping the Elric brothers capture Gluttony.
36	* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' has the protagonist's HumongousMecha Arbalest, which has a spare dagger stored on its "mouth", specifically designed to be evocative of a ninja holding a scroll between his teeth. Rather than a sheathe, however, the dagger is held by a pair of clamps which pop open when Sosuke needs it.
37	* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Triela does this with her sword bayonet while climbing a rope in Season One's "Gelato". In the anime ''Il Teatrino'' during the fight with Pinocchio, she does it again for a brief moment so she can have both hands free to reload her pistol. And in the manga during the battle of the New Turin Power Plant, Triela loses AnArmAndALeg and uses her teeth to hold a shotgun shell so she can reload her shotgun with her remaining hand.
38	* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}''
39	** Psychotic priest [[KnightTemplar Alexander Anderson]] does this, though not by choice as he had [[spoiler:previously gotten both of his arms blown off by Alucard]].
40	** Alucard himself does this with one of his guns, using his teeth to rack the slide. Just before [[spoiler:putting down the Hound of Baskerville, which has been taken over by Walter]], in a ShoutOut to the first anime.
41	* Kurojaki, head of the Koga dog clan from ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'', wields a sickle with his jaws and uses it against other dogs. Picking a fight with Gin [[EyeScream results in him gouging out an eye]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard with his own sickle]].
42	* The five lions of ''Anime/GoLion'' (aka the Lion Anime/{{Voltron}}) all carried their swords in their mouth since, well, where else is a lion gonna carry a sword?
43	* Ray, of ''Literature/InfiniteDendrogram'', does this once with Nemesis, a massive Greatsword, to finish off an opponent. However, it was only possible because the weapon was weightless for him.
44	* Saruhiko Fushimi of ''Anime/{{K}}'' does this in the first season opening with his actual sword while [[LeParkour jumping from street light to street light]]. It is ''only'' in the opening though and he never does it in the Anime proper.
45	** In the second season, he does this with one of his throwing knives in his [[spoiler: JUNGLE profile picture]].
46	* In ''Manga/MaidenRose'', Klaus does this with his knife during the nighttime training exercise, presumably to free up his hands for something else.
47	* ''Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam'' combines this with BarehandedBladeBlock and HumongousMecha. The final duel between Kincaid and Zabine starts with their [[LaserBlade beam zanbers]] and, as they damage each others' weapons ends up with their [[HotBlade heat daggers]]. In the final clash, Kincaid catches Zabine's knife in the X-1's "mouth"[[note]]Actually a heat vent in its faceplate[[/note]], while his own knife goes right into the X-2's cockpit. Bonus points, of course, for being a pirate-themed series.
48	* Just about every other promotional image for ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' features the title character posing with a kunai in his mouth. Laughed at in [[http://risachantag.deviantart.com/art/Naruto-Occupational-Hazards-12026964 this]] fanart.
49	** A more extreme example takes place in the series' Land of Waves arc climax. Deprived of the use of his arms, a [[UnstoppableRage really pissed off]] Zabuza is able to [[FoeTossingCharge plow through]] a bridge full of armed criminals to get at the BigBad who tried to double cross him while armed with just a single kunai held in his mouth, whipping it around with his ''tongue'' whenever he needed to change direction. In the manga he even cut his target's head off.
50	** Similarly, the mouth is just ''one'' of the improbably places Killer Bee [[https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Acrobat holds his 7 swords]]. Note that none of the seven are actually in his ''hands''.
51	** Deidara does this as well. Though like Zabuza, he was forced to since his arms were torn off.
52	* Kotarou of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' does this with [[spoiler:Asuna's ''{{BFS}}'']] in the Magic World tournament. Not that he had much of a choice since [[spoiler:he had transformed into his monster wolf form]].
53	* The pirate-themed anime ''Manga/OnePiece'' takes this to extremes. Roronoa Zoro, a bounty hunter who eventually becomes Luffy's swordsman, utilizes the powerful techniques of Santôryû, a fictional fighting style that involves wielding three swords, one in each hand and one ''[[ImprobableUseOfAWeapon in the mouth]]''. Somehow, [[TalkingIsAFreeAction he can even talk while doing this]]: the creator said that [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum it is his heart that allows him to speak]].
54	** Although in the Creator/FUNimation dub, his voice ''is'' muffled (albeit still quite coherent) when using it.
55	*** However in the original Japanese voiceover he amusingly [[TrrrillingRrrs rolls his R's]] like a yankee while his sword is still clenched in his teeth. Now that's talent.
56	* Kyuzo does this twice in ''Samurai 7''. With two swords, it's easy to run out of hands.
57	* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': Mugen puts his samurai sword between his teeth when climbing a cliff in Episode 16.
58	* In ''Anime/TekkenTheMotionPicture'', Heihachi Mishima catches an ''axe'' flung at his face by Michelle Chang by ''biting onto the blade with such force it shatters''. He then leaps down from the balcony to confront her, spits out a shard of metal, and tells her that if she wants revenge on him, she'll have to fight her way successfully through his tournament.
59	* In the manga of ''Manga/YuGiOh'', Jounouchi challenged in a fight with a bully with knives in both of their mouths in a narrow alley after the bully beat up Yugi and took his puzzle after losing to an arcade game against him.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Comic Books]]
63	* Lampshaded in one of the ''ComicBook/CommandoComics'' stories. A unit of British Commandos shows up to help a conventional infantry unit. One soldier jokes, "I thought you guys were supposed to have your faces painted black and knives between your teeth."
64	* Parodied in ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'': Franchise/{{Tarzan}} swings in to save Jane from a crocodile, with a knife in his teeth. Later we see him in a doctor's office, with the knife [[BodyHorror embedded in]] [[GlasgowGrin his cheeks]].
65	* A similar joke is used in ''ComicBook/{{Sturmtruppen}}'' with a paratrooper ending up with the knife like this.
66	* Done out of necessity in ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue13To14 issues 13 to 14]] since the ponies lack hands.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Fan Works]]
70	* An intentional CallBack to Zabuza's last stand happens in ''Fanfic/NarutoTheSecretSongsOfTheNinja'' when [[spoiler:Naruto]] is forced to fight with a kunai clenched between his teeth during [[spoiler:the escape from Hosokusa due to his hands being shackled behind his back]].
71	* In Chapter 28 of ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Ash is searching through the Safari Zone for his Tauros. He comes across a group of a few of them, defeated by a Farfetch'd wielding a leek in each wing and one in his beak, very similar to Zoro.
72	* In the ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' story ''A Triumph of the Heart, Year 3 Volume 1'' by taerkitty, a policeman has a YouMonster reaction to seeing cyborg Dino [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour pull a knife from her target's eye, wipe it off and hold it in her teeth.]]
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
76	* Buck from ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'' carries his carnosaur-tooth knife in his mouth occasionally. Granted, weasels are probably more used to carrying things by mouth than humans are.
77	* In ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', one of the pirates does this more or less all the time. After receiving a cannonball to the head during the battle aboard the ship courtesy of Michael and his teddy bear, he ''bites through it''.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' has the rare occurrence of it being someone ''else's'' sword. During the opening fight, a soldier attacks Sinbad's first mate Kale, who catches the blade in his teeth, then uses it to fling the man overboard.
79	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', [[CoolHorse Maximus]] takes this to the next level by fighting Flynn with a sword held thusly ([[JustifiedTrope in fairness, he doesn't have thumbs anyway]]) and giving a better account than all of the human guards put together.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
83	* ''Film/Aftermath2021'': [[spoiler:Otto]] puts a syringe between his teeth before going out to [[spoiler:kill Kevin]].
84	* Jack Burton does this a few times in ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina''.
85	* In ''Film/BreakheartPass'', Carlos clenches his knife between his teeth when climbs up on top of the train to pursue after Deakin.
86	* In ''Film/ChaiLaiAngelsDangerousFlowers'', Lotus clutches a knife between her teeth as she swims off the island after the boat containing the pearl. She draws the knife and throws it, burying it in the back of one of Dragon's mooks.
87	* In the climax of Tod Browning's ''Film/{{Freaks}}'', the limbless Randian is seen wiggling through the mud after the antagonist with a knife in his teeth. In all fairness, how ''else'' could the man carry a knife?
88	* In ''Film/TheGoonies'', Chunk holds a knife in his teeth during the scene where he and Sloth appear on One-Eye Willy's ship to rescue the team from the Fratellis.
89	* ''Film/JamesBond''
90	** A modern variation in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' during the assault on Blofeld's base. Some ninjas can be seen holding grenades in their teeth--not for PinPullingTeeth but just to keep their hands free for climbing and FastRoping.
91	** In the climax of ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', [[TheDragon Gobinda]] has to go outside Kamal's private jet in mid-air to attack Bond, who is sabotaging the airplane. He briefly holds his curved dagger in his teeth to leave both hands free while he's climbing out the hatch onto the wing.
92	* In ''Film/LethalWeapon4'', Riggs climbs up ropes onto a smugglers' ship with his ''pistol'' held between his teeth.
93	* ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'': Arrow when delivering Smollett's sword, because his hands are occupied by his own weapon and the rope he's swinging out with.
94	* During the climactic battle against the Kraken in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', Will Turner does this with a knife so he can climb up rigging. He takes the time to make sure the sharp edge is pointed away from his mouth while he does it, too.
95	** Koleniko (the puffer fish guy) is holding a full-sized cutlass in his mouth when the ''Flying Dutchman'''s crew teleport over to the ''Black Pearl''.
96	* In ''Film/TheUnknown'', [[KnifeThrowingAct knife-thrower]] Alonzo the Armless (who [[HandyFeet throws knives with his feet]]) is compelled by his condition ([[ObfuscatingDisability faked at first]], but later genuine when he has [[AnArmAndALeg his arms amputated]]) to sometimes hold his knives in his teeth.
97	* Moon has a knife clutched between his teeth when he clambers on board the Spanish galleon in ''Film/{{Yellowbeard}}''.
98
99
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Literature]]
103	* Discussed in one of the later ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' stories. Despite her skepticism, Amelia later expressed regret that she ''couldn't'' have a cutlass between her teeth when she boarded a hostile vessel ... but, "Ah, well, one cannot have everything."
104	-->"That has always struck me as an impractical procedure," I said. "One would have to have extremely hard teeth and strong jaw muscles, and even then an involuntary movement might easily result in the loss of teeth and jaw."
105	* ''Literature/TheBible'': Jesus in ''The book of Revelation'' is described as having a sword coming out of his mouth. It's likely the most mundane part of John's description. One interpretation of the passage as that the returning Christ will merely [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath speak the Word]] [[BrownNote to kill his foes]], since another passage says "The Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword."
106	* Referred to in ''Literature/CheaperByTheDozen'' in the chapter about what it was like when a baby was born into the Gilbreth household.
107	-->So when Anne was born, in New York, Dad was not the least bit disappointed, because he'd known all along she would be a girl. It is doubtful if any father was ever more insane about an offspring. It was just as well that Anne was a girl. If she had been a boy, Dad might have toppled completely off the deep end, and run amok with a kris in his teeth.
108	* Averted with a background Viking named Sven Swordeater in ''Literature/{{Everworld}}''. He got the matching scars on his cheeks when someone pushed a sword through them, not because he was holding it there.
109	* Referenced in ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' when Raoul Duke describes a particularly bad trip in which you might see your grandmother climbing up your pantleg with a knife between her teeth.
110	* In Creator/WillEisner's book ''Graphic Storytelling'', he points out that the way certain elements are drawn are ways of visual storytelling. He has a diagram that says "the way a knife is held is storytelling," with several small illustrations of people holding knives in different ways. One of the illustrations is of a {{pirate}} holding a knife with his teeth.
111	* In one ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' book, one of Captain Hornblower's midshipman climbs the netting of a ship with a dirk between his teeth specifically because that's how it's done in all the swashbuckling tales, but he doesn't injure himself in doing so.
112	* Parodied in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, when Commander Vimes suggests this trope for boarding an enemy vessel. The captain responds with the story of the last guy he saw try this, who was posthumously nicknamed "Topless Harry".
113	* Also parodied in ''Literature/GoodOmens'' with a rebel leader:
114	-->"I glaim gis oteg in der gaing og der—" he paused. He took the knife out of his teeth and began again.
115	* There's a famous magazine cover by Kelly Freas for Creator/MurrayLeinster's story "The Pirates of Ersatz" depicting a SpacePirate climbing aboard a rocket with a ''[[{{Zeerust}} slide rule]]'' in his teeth. [[http://michaelmay.us/09blog/06/0605_piratesersatz390.jpg See it here.]]
116	* Shows up in ''Literature/ThePyrates'', of course. Most of the characters are too smart to actually try it, except for [[TheBrute Firebeard]]. Fortunately for him, he gets distracted trying to remember whether the sharp edge is supposed to face in or out.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
120	* ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'' features a particularly extreme example, with the eponymous hero's [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf-themed]] FragileSpeedster form uses a [[PlayingWithFire fire-elemental]] CutlassBetweenTheTeeth slash as its FinishingMove. If that doesn't sound too extreme, you should also know that Kamen Rider costumes consist of [[https://web.archive.org/web/20100127132506/http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kiva/rider/garuluform.html full helmets]], meaning Kiva's mask has to ''sprout a mouth'' just to perform its finisher.
121	* In the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues", Kate climbs a tree with a knife between her teeth in order to cut Charlie down.
122	* Will Ferrell teaming up with Bear Grylls in ''Series/ManVsWild'' puts his knife between his teeth for showing off while "watching the perimeter".
123	* ''Series/WhodunnitUK'': In "Final Trumpet", the fortuneteller Madame Fey describes seeing the aerialist Aerolita climbing the ladder to the trapeze with a knife between her teeth.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Pinball]]
127	* ''Pinball/BlackRose'' shows a crewmate doing this on the backglass.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
131	* Dementia D'Rose often carries a big shiny knife around, usually having it between her teeth during her entrance. She treats it more like a fashion accessory than a weapon and has [[SwordPlant thrown it in the ground]] when [[ThrowingDownTheGauntlet challenging people to fights]]...and [[OralFixation then puts it back in her mouth]] afterwards.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
135	* The ''[[ConnanTheBarbarian Conan]] d20 Role Playing Game'' gives this as a class ability to the Barbarian and - naturally - the Pirate.
136	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has a weapon property called Mouthpick. It allows a creature with a bite attack to wield the weapon in its jaws instead of with its (possibly nonexistent) hands. As if beholders and dragons weren't bad enough, now they can ''stab you with their tongue''.
137	* An earlier edition of ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' had a separate skill for "Fast-Draw Knife from Teeth". Martial Arts for 4e, meanwhile, uses standard Fast-Draw, but gives an extremely harsh penalty for fast-drawing this way, with a CriticalFailure making you cut up your face.
138	* Given that they attempt to exhibit every single Pirate trope under the sun, it is not at all surprising that one of the miniatures for ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'''s Long Drong's Slayer Pirates regiment is doing this with a dagger, while brandishing two pistols with his hands.
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:Theatre]]
142	* A [[EightiesHair 1980s]] Broadway production of ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', available on DVD (and Website/YouTube), parodies this: During his excellent IAmSong, the Pirate King (Kevin Kline) steals the conductor's baton and carries it onstage between his teeth. Other flashy-if-dangerously-stupid tricks are mocked by having the King implicitly cut his hand on his own blade...or maybe that's just to show he's [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything not a very good pirate]].
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Video Games]]
146	* Asura from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' does this [[spoiler: with his Master Augus's blade, Wailing Dark. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and then proceeds to use it to fight a Gohma with an impurity level of '''47,000!''' As for why he didn't use his hands instead, he didn't have any at the moment.]]]]
147	* Vella does this in ''VideoGame/BrokenAge'' after freeing herself from Mog Chothra's maiden feast, flying away on a bird.
148	* Great Gray Wolf Sif in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' wields the greatsword of his dead companion, Artorias the Abysswalker, in his jaws when fought by the player character. [[RuleOfThree He is also a dog.]]
149	* ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}'': The Cutthroat Buccaneer is a GhostPirate who is depicted holding a cutlass between his teeth.
150	* Sora in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' wields the Keyblade in his mouth while in his Lion form in the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Pridelands]].
151	* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'':
152	** One of the random "Majima Everywhere" encounters in ''VideoGame/YakuzaKiwami''. Has him randomly enter a street fight, making his presence known with a very badass and stylish intro which ends with him throwing his demonfire dagger up in the air and catching it between his teeth, before wielding it.
153	** One of the HEAT moves in ''[[VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuKenzan Kenzan]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuIshin Ishin]]'', has Miyamoto Musashi[=/=]Ryoma Sakomoto putting their tanto between their teeth and waiting for a {{mook}} to attack them, counterattacking with a grapple and then finishing the move by pulling out the tanto then stabbing the mook.
154	* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
155	** The [[https://metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/FOXHOUND FOXHOUND logo]] incorporates this design, having a fox hold a combat dagger in its mouth, by the handle instead of the blade.
156	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', [[CanisMajor DD]] can use a knife or stun rod between his teeth to take out enemy soldiers.
157	** Raiden's SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome at the climax of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', in which -- having no usable arms -- he fights a room full of [[EliteMooks FROGS]] using his teeth to grip his sword.
158	* Koromaru in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' wields a sword in his jaws during battle, due to being a dog, and attacks enemies by somersaulting into his enemies with said sword.
159	* In ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', four-legged phantoms (called beasts) use this in a non-badass way because they have no arms to hold items with.
160	* Zacian, the mascot of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Pokémon Sword]]'', wields a golden sword between its teeth, similar to the above canine examples.
161	* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 3'' character Mitsunari actually shows the more practical side of this. He holds his '''sheathed''' sword in his mouth while traveling by zipline, and the sheath alone when using his Basara Attack, presumably to keep his arms free. He also does this while using his third Super Skill "Reverence", in which he abandons the use of his sword altogether.
162	* Also used in ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' (the [=PS2=] remake); one variety of enemy is essentially an [[GoddamnedBats armored ninja dog]] that holds a two-bladed sword in its mouth.
163	* ''Franchise/SlyCooper'' holds his cane between his teeth when he's climbing a rope or pipe, presumably because Thiefnet doesn't sell a SticksToTheBack upgrade.
164	* Pikachu does this in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' when picking up a beam sword (or anything else, for that matter), since he runs on all fours (walking is done upright). Though he and the others who do this are at least smart enough to hold onto the handle instead of the blade itself.
165	** ''Brawl'' changes things a bit. The forepaws have use as a grip for held weapons; swinging with the Homerun Bat and firing with the Super Scope, for example. Pikachu is even forced to carry the Cracker Launcher outside of its jaws, it's that damn big.
166	** Ditto with Ivysaur and Squirtle in ''Brawl''.
167	** Even '''Wario''' uses his mouth with the Homerun Bat.
168	* Repede in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' can wield weapons by holding them in his jaws. He is also a dog.
169	* Shinogi from ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}: Fatal Shadows''; An assassin for the Kuroya, Shinogi fights with three swords, one of which is in his mouth.
170	* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', Shiki does it during Ciel's route. The writer probably didn't do this to try to be cool; Shiki probably realizes that doing that is completely impractical and just plain dumb. However, [[spoiler: since he lost both his arms and the situation really called for him to do something, it was do it or die.]]
171	* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Cracklefang, a large wolf, wields a two-handed sword this way, and is a reference to the Dark Souls example.
172	* Faust from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' somehow does this with his weapon during his [[RunningOnAllFours odd running animation]], despite the facts that said weapon is a seven-foot scalpel and Faust's mouth is always covered by his BrownBagMask.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Webcomics]]
176	* Bug of ''Webcomic/BugMartini'' tried to learn to do this once after a disappointing knife class. [[http://www.bugmartini.com/comic/no-more-mr-knife-guy/ He ends up bleeding all over.]]
177	* In an early ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00306.htm strip]], Florence shows us her flashlight with a side-mounted handle, so that she can hold it in her mouth to keep her hands free.
178	** There's an accessory for mini Mag-lites called a "Lite-Bite" that serves the same purpose. (Seems to be discontinued now.)
179	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Zola tosses a knife between Gil's teeth for him to use to cut himself out of the man eating plant he's been captured by, and to [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101006 keep him from harassing her about her plan to kill Agatha.]]
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder:Western Animation]]
183	* Similarly, in the first appearance of the Freedom Fighters on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Smellerbee is seen with one stolen sword in each hand and her own kuhkri in her [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130212085306/http://www.piandao.org/screencaps/ep10/ep10-277.png mouth]].
184	* Facing off against WesternAnimation/BugsBunny ("WesternAnimation/WetHare"), Blacque Jacque Shellacque uses this tactic. And confronts a shark.
185	* In ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'', when the titular characters are Fire Dogs in the episode of the same name, an incredibly obese woman does this not to a sword but to Ren, to climb or rather slide down a fire-truck ladder from a high skyscraper window.
186	* In a ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode featuring a group of kids collectively making up their own story about how Jack would beat Aku, this is attributed to him as he climbs Aku's tower. The RuleOfCool is all but explicitly invoked.
187	** During Season Four there's an episode where he emerges from fighting underwater carrying a rescued woman in his arms and grasping his sword in his teeth.
188	* In ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', the Black Lion can form a small dual-bladed variant of these to use at close range, so it has a stronger cutting force than its jaws or claws. Season 2 reveals that all the Lions can do this, too.
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191	[[folder:Real Life]]
192	* From 1976-96, the helmet logo of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a red-and-orange pirate with a dagger between his teeth. (Not to mention a ''really fabulous'' [[TheCavalierYears cavalier's]] hat with a [[FluffyFashionFeathers big feather]], a dashing [[PornStache pencil mustache]] and a big gold earring. What was their win-loss record during those years again?)[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke It was 100 wins, 223 losses, 1 tie.]][[/note]]
193	* The MIT Museum has the Kelly Freas art mentioned in Literature above.
194	* Impatient for action against the Nazis at a time when Britain was entirely on the defensive, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill called for an attack on the tiny Italian island of Pantellaria "by 300 determined men, with blackened faces, knives between their teeth and [[PantsPositiveSafety revolvers under their tails]]." He was overruled by his chiefs of staff, who had a more pragmatic view of war.
195	* An infamous 1919 French political poster portrays a communist militant as a [[https://tempspresents.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/homme-au-couteau-entre-les-dents-e1389424042551.jpg scary-looking, disheveled, and drooling man with a knife between the teeth]][[labelnote:Translation]]"How to vote against Bolchevism?"[[/labelnote]]. In the context of interwar anti-communism in France, the phrase "the man with a knife between his teeth" acually is a periphrasis for "communist".
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Context Main / CutlassBetweenTheTeeth