ran out the clock
Delayed until finished
Ran out the clock means deliberately used up remaining time to secure a victory or avoid further action.
In sports, a team with the lead runs out the clock by maintaining possession until time expires: They ran out the clock with a series of short runs.
The phrase extends to any situation where someone delays until a deadline passes: The defense ran out the clock on the statute of limitations.
- filibusteringProlonged speech blocking legislation
- stallingIntentional delay tactics
- stonewallingDeliberately refusing to respond
- time allocationDistributing hours among tasks
- time managementPlanning how hours are spent
time-wasting · countdown · garbage time · sandbagging · bluffing · playing it safe · clutch · pause · pressure · dribble · ball control · four corners · prevent defense · buzzer · misdirection · tactical retreat · delay of game · pacing
ran out the clockwent for the kill
Acted to finish off
pressed · went all out · fast break offense · pulled out all the stops · hurry-up offense
runner, outrun, outed, outing, outer, outermost, clock, clocks, clocked