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

down to the wire

Until the last possible second. Negotiations went down to the wire, but we did in fact 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:
  • be 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
References in periodicals archive
Bianca Pagdanganan and Jed Dy combined superbly in foursome, coming through with a two-under 66 and turning what was expected to be a fierce, down-to-the-wire finish into a runaway seven-shot triumph in the National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club.
Pagdanganan, Dy rule nat'l doubles
ndash Iriga-Navy vs BanKo-Perlas MANILA, Philippines The Premier Volleyball League unveils its Season 2 Open Conference today with a promise of slam-bang action among eight teams that kept their rosters intact with four strutting their ways in a pair of matches tipped to go down-to-the-wire. BanKo-Perlas, which finished third in the Reinforced Conference early this year, tangles with Iriga-Navy at 6 p.
Fierce battles seen as PVL Open unwraps
Wong became notorious for his down-to-the-wire dashes to the Croisette with "2046" and "In the Mood for Love," and last year, Malick kept fest officials waiting until the last minute before it became disappointingly clear that "The Tree of Life" would not be ready in time.
Cannes plants 'Tree'
A THRILLING finish is in prospect to the pounds 1 million Racing Post/Tote Ten to Follow competition, with a down-to-the-wire struggle to decide the destination of the pounds 455,000 first prize.
Horse Racing: Close Ten to Follow finish expected; 4.15 GRAND NATIONAL
If you believe the experts, this year's presidential election might look much like the 2000 election: a down-to-the-wire and somewhat unseemly affair.
Block the vote: 50 Floridas in '04
After prolonged debate, intensive arm-twisting and down-to-the-wire compromises, Congress approved landmark legislation in late 1999 to overhaul the financial-services industry.
Financial Services Deregulated
Bobby Houston's peripatetic lens captures it all: the down-to-the-wire prelaunch snafus, the "Will they make it to the starting gate?" tensions, the storms at sea, the smoldering personality conflicts, the stoically uttered nauticalspeak, the eleventh-hour challenges, the "Will they make it to the finish line?" tensions.
Racing for their lives
'Way to bounce back with this down-to-the-wire finish.'
NCAA: Arellano recovers from San Beda loss, rallies to beat Perpetual
Down-to-the-wire contentiousness made a strike look like a real possibility but, as they say in labor circles, cooler heads prevailed.
Labor daze here again
ALAN McMANUS squeezed through yet another down-to-the-wire finish in Shanghai yesterday and it can pay to stick with the master of brinkmanship against fellow Scot John Higgins today.
Snooker: McManus tough