down to the wire
advEtymology From horse racing: approaching the wire that marks the winning line.
1
Idiomatic At the very end of a process or project, especially one with a fast-approaching deadline.
- He was almost done with the paper, but tomorrow's due date meant it would come down to the wire.
- 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.2022 February 27, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
- Synonyms
- down to the short strokes