the jaws of death/defeat/despair etc
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe jaws of death/defeat/despair etcthe jaws of death/defeat/despair etcliteraryALMOST a situation in which something unpleasant almost happens She had saved him from the jaws of death. → jawExamples from the Corpusthe jaws of death/defeat/despair etc• The shocked priority of examining herself after escaping, literally, from the jaws of death, wore off.