close shave
A narrow escape from or avoidance of a situation, often an unfavorable or dangerous one. I had a close shave this morning when a tractor trailer unexpectedly swerved into my lane. Boy, that was a close shave! That cop almost caught us! It was a close shave, but I managed to avoid hitting the deer that ran directly in front of my car.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a close shave
and a close calla narrow escape. (See also .) Wow, that was a close shave. I thought the guard would spot us. The speeding car passed only a few inches from us—a real close call.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
a close shave
If someone has a close shave, they very nearly have a bad accident or very nearly suffer a defeat. It was a close shave — if I hadn't been paying attention we could both have been flattened. McGregor had a close shave when a 7ft polar bear ran at him while he was filming a documentary about the animals in Canada. Gingrich had a close shave in the 1990 general election.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
close shave (or call)
a narrow escape from danger or disaster. informalFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
a ˌclose ˈshave/ˈcall
(informal) a situation where a disaster, an accident, etc. almost happens: We didn’t actually hit the other car, but it was a close shave. ♢ Phew! That was a close call — she nearly saw us!Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
close shave
and close call n. a narrow escape. The car passed this close to us—a real close call. Man, that was a close call!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
close call/shave, a
A narrow escape, a near miss. Both phrases are originally American. The first dates from the 1880s and is thought to come from sports, where a close call was a decision by an umpire or referee that could have gone either way. A close shave is from the early nineteenth century and reflects the narrow margin between smoothly shaved skin and a nasty cut from the razor. Both were transferred to mean any narrow escape from danger. Incidentally, a close shave was in much earlier days equated with miserliness. Erasmus’s 1523 collection of adages has it, “He shaves right to the quick,” meaning he makes the barber give him a very close shave so that he will not need another for some time. Two synonymous modern clichés are too close for comfort and too close to home.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer