By-a-hair
Also,
by a hairbreadth or whisker
. Very narrowly. For example,
His serve was out by a hair
, or
We made our flight by a hairbreadth
, or
Dad missed hitting the pole by a whisker
. The first two hyperboles for the very narrowest margin date from the 1300s and 1400s respectively;
whisker
meaning “a small amount” was first recorded in 1913. Also see
by the skin of one’s teeth
hang by a hair
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a horse, team, etc., that has little chance of winning and carries long odds. an attempt or undertaking that offers much but in which there is little chance for success. Movies, Television. a camera shot taken at a relatively great distance from the subject and permitting a broad view of a scene. Compare closeup (def […]
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- By-a-whisker
whiskers, a beard. Usually, whiskers. side whiskers. a single hair of the beard. Archaic. a mustache. one of the long, stiff, bristly hairs growing about the mouth of certain animals, as the cat or rat; vibrissa. Also called whisker boom, whisker pole. Nautical. any spar for extending the clew or clews of a sail so […]