cut it close
Leave little margin
To cut it close is to leave barely enough time or margin for something, risking failure by a narrow gap: We cut it close, but we made the flight.
The phrase suggests arriving or finishing just before a deadline, with little room for error.
Also cut it fine.
- last minuteJust before deadline
- just in timeAt the last moment
- nick of timeThe final possible moment
- near missNarrowly averted incident
- brinkmanshipPushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
skin of your teeth · crunch time · high stakes · deadline · calculated risk · playing with fire · living dangerously · narrow escape · procrastination · margin · risk tolerance · squeaker · by a whisker · photo finish · eleventh hour · race against time · imminence · urgent
cut it closeplay it safe
Avoid unnecessary chances
err on the side of caution · leave nothing to chance · plan ahead · hedge one's bets · overprepare
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