| 词汇 | down to the wire |
| 释义 | Idiom down to the wire Theme: ENDINGS at the very last minute; up to the very last instant. (Refers to a wire that marks the end of a horse race.)I have to turn this in tomorrow, and I'll be working down to the wire.When we get down to the wire, we'll know better what to do. Slang down to the wire Theme: TIME mod. until the very last minute.It came down to the wire before I turned the proposal in.We went right down to the wire on that one. Idiom down to the wire American & Australian until the very last moment that it is possible to do something.If both teams are playing at their best, the game will go down to the wire (= it will be won at the last moment).The Democrats struggled down to the wire to choose their candidate. down to the wireUntil the last possible second. Negotiations went down to the wire, but we did in fact agree on a new contract by the deadline. *down-to-the-wireFig. waiting until the very last moment; right up to the deadline. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) It came down-to-the-wire before I turned the proposal in. We went right down-to-the-wire on that one. down to the wireTo the last minute; to the very end. For example, We're just about down to the wire with this project. This term comes from horseracing, where it was long the practice to stretch a wire across and above the track at the finish line. It was extended to figurative use about 1900. down to the wireCOMMON If you do something down to the wire, you continue doing it until the last possible moment. Sutton claims the race for the championship will go right down to the wire. Negotiations are likely to go down to the wire. Note: The `wire' here is a an imaginary one which the horses pass under at the end of a race. down to the wireused to denote a situation whose outcome is not decided until the very last minute. informalThis expression comes from horse racing and originated in North America, where a wire is stretched across and above the finishing line on a racecourse. down to the wire mod. until the very last minute. We went right down to the wire on that one. down to the wireInformal To the very end, as in a race or contest. down to the wireAt the very last minute; at the end. The term, an Americanism dating from the late nineteenth century, alludes to the practice of stretching a wire across and above the track at the start and finish of a racecourse. Here “down to” actually means the same as “up to,” that is, all the way to the finishing line. It began to be transferred to occasions other than horse races about 1900, and appears in print in Down the Line (1901) by H. McHugh (pseudonym for George Vere Hobart): “Swift often told himself he could . . . beat him down to the wire.” |
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