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Also, win by a whisker. Just barely succeed, as in Sally's political cartoon came in first in the contest, but I heard that she won by a nose. This term comes from horseracing, where from about 1900 on it referred to a finish so close that only a portion of the horse's nose reached the finish ahead of the second horse. A whisker?? that is, a hairis a narrower margin yet. [Second half of 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms
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Phrase(s): win by a nose
Fig. to win by the slightest amount of difference. (Can be literal in horses races.) • I ran the fastest race I could, but I only won by a nose. • Sally won the race, but she only won by a nose.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs