be down to the wire

be down to the wire

To be unresolved until the last possible second. Negotiations are down to the wire, and I'm worried we won't agree on a new contract by the deadline.
See also: down, wire
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*down-to-the-wire

Fig. 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.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • down-to-the-wire
  • down to the wire
  • come down to the wire
  • go, come, etc. down to the wire
  • go down to the wire
  • under the wire
  • a live wire
  • live wire
  • hold the wire
  • tumble down