within an ace of

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, within an inch of . Very close to, within a narrow margin of, as in We were within an ace of calling you, but we'd lost your phone number , or We were within an inch of buying tickets for that concert . The first term refers to the ace of dice, that is, the one pip on a die. The lowest number one can throw with a pair of dice is two (two aces), a throw that is within an ace of one. The term began to be used for other kinds of near miss by about 1700.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The judge, Recorder Simon Parrington, told Baston he was "within an ace" of going away.

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The proposal by the socialist who came within an ace of being the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee would tax employers one dollar for every dollar that their employees take in food stamp, health-care and other welfare benefits.

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Parkinson was hauled before the Privy Council for questioning and came within an ace of being dispatched in irons to Australia before the charges against him were quietly dropped.

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Kamel Daoud is the Algerian novelist who came within an ace of winning France's top book award - the Goncourt - last year for his Camus-inspired The Meursault Investigation.

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His back-up brought the Pats to within an ace of making the playoffs.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

within within bounds

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