down to the wire
The idiom 'down to the wire' originates from horse racing, where a wire was used to determine the winner as they crossed the finish line.
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Definition
B2General
(informal)Describing a situation where something is completed just before the deadline.
Example
- The project came down to the wire, but we managed to submit it on time.
B2Competitions
(informal)Referring to a competition or event where the outcome remains uncertain until the very end.
Example
- The game went down to the wire, with the winning goal scored in the last minute.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "down to the wire":
under the wirecut it closecut it fineon the ropesin extremisphoto finishdown to the short strokeshome stretchunder the gunon the edgecrunch timethe end of one's ropeagainst timeclose shavelast minute