Under the wire

Origin

The phrase 'under the wire' gallops from the thrilling world of horse racing, a sport where every fraction of a second can determine victory or defeat. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a thin wire or string was often stretched across the track at the exact finish line, particularly as photo-finish technology emerged to accurately judge close races. A horse that won by the smallest margin, just barely making it across before another, was said to have made it 'under the wire'—meaning they crossed the finish line with the absolute minimum time to spare, snatching victory at the last possible moment.