beat the gun

beat the gun

To take action or finish a task before a deadline. This phrase comes from sporting events in which gunfire was sometimes used to indicate the end of a contest. We have to get these pages to the printer by 8, so work faster, people—we've got to beat the gun! I think they beat the gun with that goal—there was still time left on the clock.
See also: beat, gun
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

beat the gun

Fig. to manage to do something before the ending signal. (Originally from sports, referring to scoring in the last seconds of a game just before the referee fires a gun to signal the end of the game.) The field goal beat the gun and was in the air just in time. Tom tried to beat the gun, but he was one second too slow.
See also: beat, gun
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • How long is a piece of string?
  • from my cold, dead hands
  • how/what about...?
  • how about
  • and the rest
  • eggs is eggs
  • going, going, gone
  • going, going, gone!
  • made in China
  • best foot forward
References in periodicals archive
At the Labour conference on Thursday, Home Secretary David Blunkett vowed to beat the gun crime culture.
Victim gunned down on street
As Home Secretary David Blunkett vowed today to beat the gun crime culture that claimed Mrs Bates' life, her daughter Xanthe said: "There's someone's son or brother who has done this to our family.
Daughter appeals after raid murder
The only other track gold was achieved in controversial circumstances as girls' team captain Heather Jones (Tregib) won the 80 metres hurdles after a starting fiasco.After England's Kylie Robilliard and Jones had caused false starts, the Welsh record holder beat the gun again but to everyone's amazement there was no recall gun and the four-times British champion hurdled superbly to claim gold in 11.60 seconds.
Athletics: Watkins shows the way
A Scots gunsmith is planning to patent a new type of dangerous weapon in a bid to beat the gun ban.
PRO-GUN LOBBY BEAT BAN WITH ANTIQUES; Scot set to bring in new weapon
Of course the margins of error needed to deliberately beat the gun are so fine as to be almost indefinable.
NO DIGNITY, NO STYLE, NO GRACE; Throwing training shoes in the bin isn't
In a tense start to the final youngster Gibril Bangura beat the gun putting the entire field on their last warning only for the Coventry Godiva runner, who has greater pedigree in the 200m, to rise early and rob himself of the opportunity of upsetting his rivals.
ATHLETICS : Lewis-Francis hamstring injury tops wretched day for national sprinters; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP & COMMONWEALTH TRIALS Brian Dick on a sad experience for Britain's gold medal-winning sprint relay team
Home Secretary David Blunkett today promised that the police would take on and beat the gun crime culture which claimed the life of jeweller Marian Bates.
We will beat gun crime
Adam explained: "I got disqualified in the heats on the first start because they thought I was trying to beat the gun. I suppose I was nervous.
Whitehead thrives on pool pressure; SWIMMING
The 18-year-old's lack of experience told as he was put off by a slow start having been called back after a much better getaway when Boldon beat the gun, though the former world 200 m champion complained of poor officiating.
World Championships - Harrier set for lift-off; Fast-track: As the sprint king straddles his 100m throne, his heir apparent is waiting Brave failure to reach final testing Briton's learning curve, writes Ian Gordon