
IdiomDaily Life
English
down to the wire
Meaning: To the deadline.
Example: “The election went down to the wire.”
Origin: From American horse racing, where a wire was stretched above the finish line to help judges see which horse crossed first. A race that went "down to the wire" was undecided until the very end. The phrase dates from the late 19th century.
More English idioms
- eat one's hat To do something unpleasant in the case of being proven wrong.
- eleventh hour Late or last-minute.
- eternal triangle A situation in which two men love the same woman or two women love the same man.
- every Tom, Dick and Harry Everyone.
- fair and square Honest(ly).
- give someone a fair shake To give someone or something a chance to prove itself.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
- Unique New York. Three words that jam the 'y/n/k' sequence together — repeat it and it collapses into 'you…
Keep exploring