down to the wire

English

Alternative forms

• down-to-the-wire

Etymology

From horse racing: approaching the wire that marks the winning line.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

Adjective

down to the wire (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) At the very end of a process or project, especially one with a fast-approaching deadline.

   Synonyms: down to the short strokes, last minute

   He was almost done with the paper, but tomorrow's due date meant it would be down to the wire.

Adverb

down to the wire (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) At the very end of a process or project, especially one with a fast-approaching deadline.

   Synonym: down to the short strokes

   He was almost done with the paper, but tomorrow's due date meant it would come down to the wire.

   • 2022 February 27, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Liverpool created a host of chances and had a Joel Matip goal ruled out for a foul and offside in an incident-packed game that went right down to the wire before Jurgen Klopp's side prevailed.

Translations

at the very end

• Italian: in dirittura d'arrivo