nip and tuck
1
8.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
codo a codo
- My guess is, at the end, he'll end up winning, but it's going to be nip and tuck.
- going to be nip and tuck
- nip and tuck game
Examples
-
It was nip and tuck after that, as both players had the title in their minds, coupled with some fatigue after a long day of pool.
Blog text (30) -
It was nip and tuck.
Fiction book (1990) -
Thorne concludes that "it will be nip and tuck."
Academic text (1991) -
It was nip-and-tuck for much of the second half before the Bonnies pulled away during a three-minute stretch of the second half, much like the way it had in the first.
Blog text (25) -
The final seconds were a fitting end to such a nip and tuck game.
-
The Kentucky race was called by The Associated Press just before 11 p.m., ending what had been a nip-and-tuck race as the returns came in.
Synonyms
66
2.1
A contest where the score or result is very close
28
3.5
So close in a race or competition that it is hard to tell who will win
20
6.2
A situation where two results have the same chance
9
7.2
A situation that is dangerous or uncertain until the last moment
How Close
- Literature
4
4.2
- Informal
1
8.1
28
3.5
66
2.1
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase shows a partial, metaphorical link to its parts: 'nip' (a small pinch/cut) and 'tuck' (folding or tightening) both describe small physical adjustments that are plausibly related to cosmetic surgery. However, the specialized meaning 'cosmetic surgical procedure' is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the individual words, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would be unlikely to infer the exact medical sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
Nip and tuck may come from people who made clothes. To nip is to pinch cloth and to tuck is to fold it, making a tight fit, so the phrase now describes a contest that is 'very close'.