in a dead heat
in a dead heat
In a tie, as of evenly matched opponents in a competition. Their race times have been so close lately that I bet they'll be in a dead heat the whole time. Maddie and Megan finished the race in a dead heat, so we'll have to declare two winners.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
in a dead heat
Fig. [finishing a race] at exactly the same time; tied. The two horses finished the race in a dead heat. They ended the contest in a dead heat.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
dead heat, in a
Tied for first place. The term comes from horse-racing, in which “heat” used to mean simply a race (today its meaning is a bit more specific). It was in use by the late eighteenth century (“The whole race was run head and head, terminating in a dead heat,” Sporting Magazine, 1796). It later was applied to any contest in which there was a tie.
See also: dead
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer