close call

1. A narrow escape from or avoidance of a situation, often an unfavorable or dangerous one. It was a close call, but I managed to avoid hitting the deer that ran directly in front of my car. I had a close call this morning when a tractor trailer unexpectedly swerved into my lane. Boy, that was a close call! That cop almost caught us!

2. A decision or judgment that is difficult to make due to each possibility being nearly equal in one's consideration. I'm sorry, it really was a close call, but we've decided to go with another candidate for this position. It was a close call, let me assure you. The judges deliberated for a very long time before agreeing on a winner. Wait, I'm only allowed to bring back two of my five interns? How am I supposed to make a close call like that?

3. A contest or competition whose winner is not clear due to very close competition or results that are difficult to distinguish. With the two candidates having nearly equal amounts of delegates, this election is going to be a very close call. The two teams are elite and evenly matched, so it's a really close call. I genuinely don't know which one will win. I don't know who will end up getting the funding—it's a close call between our department and theirs.

See also: call, close

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.

See also: close, shave

half-shaved

obsolete slang Mildly drunk. I suspected that my lawyer was half-shaved as he went over the case notes before the trial. I'm afraid alcohol does not agree with me at all. Just half a glass of sherry leaves me half-shaved! No wine for me, thanks. I can't get even half-shaved tonight.

have a close shave

To narrowly escape from or avoid 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, we sure had a close shave when that cop almost caught us! We had a close shave when a deer ran directly in front of my car, but we didn't hit it, thank goodness.

shave off

1. To shear something away from some surface, with or as with some kind of straight or mechanical blade. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shave" and "off." I've decided to shave off my mustache. He shaved a slice of cheese off and handed it to the child.

2. To reduce, remove, or eliminate some amount of something, especially a very small amount. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shave" and "off." I was pretty discouraged that, after spending all that time and energy training, I was only able to shave a couple seconds off my race time. Giving up milk and sugar in your coffee is a quick and easy way to shave off some calories from your diet.

shave points

Of an athlete, to intentionally limit the number of points scored by their team so that it does not exceed the margin predicted by oddsmakers. Players are paid for these efforts by gamblers who profit from them. A: "It's well known that the guy is in massive debt, and he's been playing terribly all year. You don't think he's shaving points, do you?" B: "Well, it wouldn't be the first time that it's happened in basketball."

shavetail

1. slang A newly commissioned officer in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, especially a second lieutenant. Derived from the practice of shaving the tail of untrained pack animals. It was the shavetail's first mission, and he realized he was in over his head. They court-martialed the shavetail for disobeying the admiral's orders.

2. slang By extension, any person who is inexperienced in a given field, industry, profession, etc. Why don't you give the case to the shavetail we just hired? It will be tough, but it will put her abilities to the test. Some of the older employees resented the fact that a shavetail like me was promoted through the ranks of the company so quickly.

a close shave

and a close call

a 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.

See also: close, shave

have a close shave

and have a close call

Fig. to have a narrow escape from something dangerous. What a close shave I had! I nearly fell off the roof when I was working there. I almost got struck by a speeding car. It was a close shave.

close call

Also, close shave. Narrow escape, near miss. For example, That skier just missed the tree-what a close call, or That was a close shave, nearly leaving your passport behind. The first phrase dates from the late 1800s and comes from sports, alluding to an official's decision ( call) that could have gone either way. The second, from the early 1800s, alludes to the narrow margin between closely shaved skin and a razor cut. (This latter usage replaced the much earlier equation of a close shave with miserliness, based on the idea that a close shave by a barber meant one would not have to spend money on another shave quite so soon.) Also see too close for comfort.

See also: call, close

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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.

See also: close, shave

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

close shave (or call)

a narrow escape from danger or disaster. informal

See also: close, shave

Farlex 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!

shave off

1. To cut something, especially hair, from the surface of the skin with a razor or shaver: I shaved my beard off. I shaved off the stubble.

2. To remove or eliminate something in thin strips or small amounts using a blade: The woodworker used a planer to shave off the bark. I opened the coconut and shaved some of the meat off with a knife.

3. To eliminate some small amount of a total: This aerodynamic racing suit will shave off a full second from your time. She shaved ten seconds off the school's 100-meter dash record.

4. To limit deliberately the number of points scored by one's own team in an athletic contest, as in return for a payment from gamblers to ensure winnings: The rest of the team was sure that he was missing shots on purpose in order to shave points off for his gambling buddies. The police are investigating her for shaving off points in the championship game.

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!

See also: close, shave

close call

verb

See close shave

See also: call, close

shave

tv. to reduce or lessen something. The coach thought that the other team was shaving points, so he complained the next day.

shaved

mod. alcohol intoxicated. So what if I’m a bit shaved? I shtill have all my shenses.

shavetail

n. a second lieutenant; a noncommissioned officer in the army; any inexperienced person. (Military. From a nickname for an untrained mule that is marked by a shaved tail.) Who’s the shavetail dancing with the colonel’s daughter?

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.

See also: call, close

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