nail-biting finish
- noun
- Informal
:
final emocionante
- It took an extra period and a nail-biting finish, but Virginia Tech kept its bowl game hopes alive.
Examples
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Fans were treated to a nail-biting finish as the two teams battled until the very last second.
-
In what can only be described as a nail biting finish.
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The championship was decided in a thrilling, nail-biting finish that kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
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With only ten seconds left, the game reached a nail-biting finish that left the audience cheering wildly.
Synonyms
7
5.2
A situation that makes people very nervous because the result is uncertain
Antonyms
How Suspenseful
- Informal
- Informal
2
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
nail-biting + finish
The phrase pairs the metaphorical adjective 'nail-biting' (derived from the action of biting one's nails in anxiety) with 'finish' (end), so the overall sense of a tense or suspenseful ending is partially inferable from the parts. Because the meaning depends on recognizing the conventionalized anxiety metaphor rather than a literal composition, it is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without some cultural exposure.
Etymology
Nail-biting finish comes from the image of people who bite their nails when they feel very nervous. When a game or race ends in a close, tense way, fans may literally bite their nails, so the phrase means a 'very exciting' or 'suspenseful' ending.