cruise to victory

[yanx]

Hi,

What is the opposite of cruise to victory as in Bolt cruised to victory in 100m final?

Thanks!

 

[Tdol]

Why should there be a direct opposite? You could lose by a wide margin or something, but winning easily is the opposite of what- coming second or coming last?

 

[yanx]

Why should there be a direct opposite? You could lose by a wide margin or something, but winning easily is the opposite of what- coming second or coming last?

Thanks! But what I meant was the opposite of Cruise to victory, which is something like "difficult victory". I can't find a proper word or phrase. Hopefully you can help me with this.. Thanks again!

 

[Barb_D]

It was a hard-fought victory.
It was a close call, but he won in the end.

 

[SoothingDave]

https://www.google.com/search?q=eke...&sugexp=chrome,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

"Eke out a victory" is often used.

https://www.google.com/search?q=eke...a8782d2ce5d885&bpcl=35277026&biw=1440&bih=785

Or "scrape out."

 

[Tdol]

Or narrow victory.

 

[emsr2d2]

If it looked like the winner was actually going to lose until the very end of the race, you can say "He/she snatched victory from the jaws of defeat".

Rather sarcastically, if someone is in the lead for most of a race and then loses right at the very end, we also say "He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory"!

 

[BobK]

There's also the idea of a race going 'down to the wire'. The wire in question is presumably something like the finishing tape that is sometimes used in foot races. But even, say, a Presidential Election can 'go down to the wire'.

Another, is 'it's anybody's race' - but that's more often used in predictions.

b

PS Another one is to say that two competitors are 'neck-and-neck'; I imagine that term comes from horse racing (as a horse can still win a race 'by a neck'). But, although a human runner's neck doesn't stick out (the leading part is the chest, from which we get the expression 'to breast the tape' [=finish first]), it is still accepteble to say that two runners are neck-and-neck.

 

[yanx]

:-D

Thanks very much for all your help!

My feeling is that all the answers are good to me, but I found emsr2d2 and Bobk's answers particularly helpful because they gave me much information. :up: Thanks! If anyone has any other good idea, please tell me and I would highly appreciate it..

 

[yanx]

There's also the idea of a race going 'down to the wire'. The wire in question is presumably something like the finishing tape that is sometimes used in foot races. But even, say, a Presidential Election can 'go down to the wire'.

Another, is 'it's anybody's race' - but that's more often used in predictions.

b

Thanks Bobk! Could you give me a context on how to use "It's anybody's race" as you said?

 

[yanx]

Bobk, thanks for your detailed explanation! I understand!

 

[BobK]

Thanks Bobk! Could you give me a context on how to use "It's anybody's race" as you said?

Commentary on a distance race - say 3000 metres: 'No one expected it to be this close. Two laps to go, and it's still anybody's race. You could throw a blanket over the leading group.' ('You could throw a blanket over...' =They're all very close together').

b

 

[JMurray]

A couple more phrases.
He was pushed all the way but won in a tight finish.
He was challenged throughout the race by his opponent(s) but won by a small margin.

not a teacher

 

[yanx]

A couple more phrases.He was pushed all the way but won in a tight finish.He was challenged throughout the race by his opponent(s) but won by a small margin.not a teacher

Thanks !

 

[Rover_KE]

Yanx, your thanks are appreciated, but you don't need to send them in a separate post or to quote our replies back to us.
We are all happy to accept a simple click on the Like button as your acknowledgement of our help.

Rover:-D

 

[emsr2d2]

An extremely close race where it is impossible to tell who won simply by the naked eye, is a "photo-finish". A camera on the finish line takes a rapid series of images (currently 3000 images per second) as people cross the line and is then inspected in detail to see exactly which person crossed the line first.

 

[BobK]

On the other hand, a synonym for 'cruise to victory' is 'win at a canter'. A canter is faster than a trot but slower than a gallop; so if you win at a canter you win without much effort - 'without breaking [a] sweat'.

b