a close thing

1. An unpleasant, dangerous, or disastrous event or outcome that one narrowly avoids. No one was hurt in the accident, but it was a close thing—if the fuel tank had been hit, we all would have died. It was a close thing, but thankfully the surgeons managed to remove the cancerous tissue before it spread to other parts of my body. The last-minute deal will avert a government shutdown, but it will have been a close thing.

2. A very narrow outcome or margin of success or failure. After finding out I got the job, I learned from a friend within the company that it was a close thing due to the yearlong gap in my résumé. It is expected to be a close thing in the final moments of the presidential election. With two teams this evenly matched, the championship game will likely be a close thing.

a close (or near) thing

a narrow avoidance of something unpleasant.

a close/near ˈthing

a close-run ˈthing

(informal)
1 a competition, an election, a race, etc. which you only just succeed in winning: I know we won, but believe me, it was a near thing. They could easily have beaten us.
2 a punishment, an accident, etc. which you only just avoided: The police searched the house but they didn’t find him. It was a close-run thing.