DOWN TO THE WIRE

The phrase “down to the wire” is used to describe a situation whose outcome is not decided until the last minute.

 This expression is related to horse racing and originated in the late 1800s in the US, where racecourses have a wire stretched across and above the finishing line; in a race that goes down to the wire, the horses are neck and neck right to the end [1].

 Examples of use:

 “As the United Kingdom’s labyrinthine Brexit crisis goes down to the wire, May is making a last-ditch effort to get changes to the divorce package but lawmakers may try on Wednesday to grab control of Brexit in a series of parliamentary votes.”

 “The Royals had some gilt edged chances late on but couldn’t take them and it’s looking more and more likely their relegation fight will go down to the wire.”

 “But the decision went down to the wire after the Tory opposition attempted to vote down the budget.”

 [1] Cresswell, Julia. “wire” in The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.

 Photo credit: Donnie Ray Jones