in the nick of time
14
3.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
por los pelos
- Luckily, we spotted the problem and managed to take action in the nick of time.
- arrived in the nick of time
- came in the nick of time
- saved in the nick of time
Examples
-
We got here just in the nick of time.
-
Ms. Camann jumped on the skateboard, took a shortcut, and won the race in the nick of time!
Fiction book (1997) -
Not to worry, though... they managed to get out in the nick of time.
-
Just in the nick of time, too.
-
I escape from the forest just in the nick of time.
Fiction book (2000) -
But from my perspective, he had arrived in the nick of time.
Fiction book (2001) -
Calvin struggles to his feet and gets the vault door shut just in the nick of time.
Fiction book (1999) -
Jim makes it onto the bus in the nick of time, as Doyle's unmarked car soars right past.
Fiction book (1995) -
A neighbor and his burly son rushed in in the nick of time, grabbed him, and heaved him down the stairwell.
Fiction book (1991) -
We got here just in the nick of time.
Synonyms
524
1.1
Before the last moment, early enough not to be late
167
3.5
At the last moment before it is too late
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 Close
- Informal
14
3.5
101
2.5
16
3.2
100
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'at the last possible moment' depends on an idiomatic/archaic sense of 'nick' (a critical moment) that is not the common, literal meaning learners know, so knowing 'in', 'nick' and 'time' separately does not let a B1 learner infer the idiomatic sense. The construction is therefore idiomatic and not transparently compositional.
Etymology
In the nick of time may come from an old idea of a nick as a small cut or mark that shows an exact point in time. If you arrive at that tiny mark you are there 'just before it is too late', so the phrase means arriving at the last possible moment.