just under the wire
2
6.2
- idiom
:
justo a tiempo
- got in just under the wire
Examples
-
Update: Looks like I got this post in just under the wire.
Blog text (12) -
Anybody who gets signatures in on time can run, and she got in just under the wire.
-
She submitted her application just under the wire, right before the deadline.
-
He managed to complete his project just under the wire, finishing it just in time.
-
The team sent in their report just under the wire, ensuring they met the deadline.
Synonyms
101
2.5
Happening just before the last possible moment to act
3
4.5
The last moment before a deadline when it is almost too late
Happens just in time before it is too late
Antonyms
How Timely
2
6.2
101
2.5
167
3.5
321
1.0
278
1.8
241
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'just' (barely) and 'under' (beneath/short of) gives a partial clue that something happened at the last moment, but the crucial sense depends on knowing 'wire' as a finishing line (a sports/deadline metaphor). Because that specialized meaning and cultural sports image are not immediately obvious from the literal constituents to many learners, the phrase is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Just under the wire may come from old horse races where a thin wire or tape marked the finish line; if a horse passed under the wire at the very last second, it had just made the finish, so the phrase now means 'at the last possible moment' or 'just in time'.