down to the wire

Etymology
From horse racing: approaching the wire that marks the winning line.

Adjective

 * 1)  At the very end of a process or project, especially one with a fast-approaching deadline.
 * He was almost done with the paper, but tomorrow's due date meant it would be down to the wire.

Adverb

 * 1)  At the very end of a process or project, especially one with a fast-approaching deadline.

Translations

 * Italian: in dirittura d'arrivo