What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

bob(from black rock) said:

What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

Possibly the wire of a finish line.

bob(from black rock) said:

What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

I thought it related to cutting something right down to the wire inside, through all the plastic, insulation etc

Witty Rejoinder said:

bob(from black rock) said:

What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

Possibly the wire of a finish line.

But it aint a wire, that would decapitate the winner.

bob(from black rock) said:

But it aint a wire, that would decapitate the winner.

Only if it was pulled taut.

Cymek said:

bob(from black rock) said:

What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

I thought it related to cutting something right down to the wire inside, through all the plastic, insulation etc

Could be, but how does this help.?

Witty Rejoinder said:

bob(from black rock) said:

But it aint a wire, that would decapitate the winner.

Only if it was pulled taut.

It probably is something American as it has only been adopted by the Brits & Aussies.

bob(from black rock) said:

Cymek said:

bob(from black rock) said:

What will go right down to the wire? which wire? and why will “it” go down to it?
Who creates these crap sayings? and why?

I thought it related to cutting something right down to the wire inside, through all the plastic, insulation etc

Could be, but how does this help.?

It predates plastic etc.

Tamb said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

bob(from black rock) said:

But it aint a wire, that would decapitate the winner.

Only if it was pulled taut.

It probably is something American as it has only been adopted by the Brits & Aussies.

Don’t know why we copy the Seppos they don’t speak English, they speak Hamerican.

IIRC it comes from horse racing, where the end of the race was marked by a piece of wire.

Etymology: based on the racing meaning of wire
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/down+to+the+wire

Divine Angel said:

Etymology: based on the racing meaning of wire
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/down+to+the+wire

i.e. a wire marking where the race ends.

btm said:

IIRC it comes from horse racing, where the end of the race was marked by a piece of wire.

What? and actual piece of wire stretched across the track?

I believe the phrase refers to how a thin wire was hung across the finish line of a horse race so as to help distinguish who finished first.

diddly-squat said:

I believe the phrase refers to how a thin wire was hung across the finish line of a horse race so as to help distinguish who finished first.

So was the wire above head height of the horses?

No, but it wasn’t stretched taut.

Divine Angel said:

No, but it wasn’t stretched taut.

So what happened when the wire was contacted?

You could see which horse had stretched it, and that was the horse that won. I believe the wire snapped before injury was caused.

bob(from black rock) said:

btm said:

IIRC it comes from horse racing, where the end of the race was marked by a piece of wire.

What? and actual piece of wire stretched across the track?

Yes, but at a height so that horse and rider could pass safely underneath. Sometimes with little flags attached.

bob(from black rock) said:

diddly-squat said:

I believe the phrase refers to how a thin wire was hung across the finish line of a horse race so as to help distinguish who finished first.

So was the wire above head height of the horses?

below, across the chest i believe…

This phrase is commonly used to describe dramatic moments where the final result
is not known until the very end, or near the end. For instance, a sports commentator
for a basketball game might describe a close match between two teams as “coming
down to the wire.” This is often said towards the end of a close game because, due
to the game being so close in terms of score, it’s difficult to tell who will win until the
final moments.

So where did this phrase come from? This expression is believed to have originated from horse racing, where a wire was hung up over the finish line to help determine a winner. Thus, races that were extremely close could be described as “coming down to the wire,” quite literally.

According to World Wide Words, the phrase is used by Scribner’s Magazine in July, 1889. There’s a story within the magazine titled ‘How the Derby Was Won’, and it provides some details about a horse race:

“As the end of the stand was reached Timarch worked up to Petrel, and the two raced down to the wire, cheered on by the applause of the spectators. They ended the first half mile of the race head and head, passing lapped together under the wire, and beginning in earnest the mile which was yet to be traversed.”

http://www.knowyourphrase.com/phrase-meanings/Down-to-The-Wire.html