間一髪
Meanings
1
hair's breadth; close call; by a hair
Describes a situation where something dangerous or disastrous was barely avoided. Often used in the phrase 間一髪のところで.
See also: 間一髪のところ
I caught the train by a hair's breadth.
He narrowly escaped the accident.
Usage patterns
- 間一髪で〈事〉を免れるto narrowly escape/avoid something (a disaster, accident, etc.)
We narrowly avoided the accident by a hair's breadth.
- 間一髪で〈動詞〉to do something just in the nick of time
I managed to catch the train just in time.
- 間一髪の差で〈動詞〉to do something by the narrowest of margins
We lost the championship by the narrowest of margins.