by a whisker

By an extremely short or slim margin (of distance, time, or another measure). They're just about to close the gates! It looks like we made the flight by a whisker. The race was neck and neck till the very end, but Sally won it by a whisker.

by a whisker

If you succeed or fail to do something by a whisker, you succeed or fail, but only just. The French government only scraped a Yes vote by a whisker. At the end we lost by a whisker and we were so disappointed.

do something by a ˈwhisker

(informal) do something, but nearly fail; do something, but only just: He missed the first prize by a whisker. ♢ You escaped serious injury by a whisker, so consider yourselves very lucky.

by a hair/whisker

Very narrowly, by a very small distance or amount. For example, “He missed sideswiping that car by a hair,” or “That ball was in, but just by a whisker.” Both versions of this cliché allude to the fineness of a single hair. The first, also put as by a hairbreadth, dates from the fourteenth century, whereas the second originated in early twentieth-century America.