in the nick of time
Not too late
Just in time—at the last possible moment before it's too late.
The phrase implies narrowly avoiding disaster or missing a deadline: The ambulance arrived in the nick of time.
Nick here means a precise point or critical moment, suggesting how thin the margin was between success and failure.
- last-minuteJust before deadline
- eleventh hourLatest possible time
- down to the wireUnresolved until the final moment
- saveProtect from loss
- deadlineTime limit for completion
intervene · countdown · split-second · relief · avert · hair's breadth · rescue · protect · punctuality · narrow escape · by a whisker · skin of your teeth · squeaker · brink · imminent · recover · tension · nail biter
- time sayingscarpe diem, seize the day, better late than never, tempus fugit, haste makes waste
in the nick of timetoo late
Past the cutoff
after the fact · belatedly · a day late and a dollar short · tardily · behind schedule
in the nick of timeahead of schedule
Before the planned time
early · leisurely · in good time · unhurriedly · in due course
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