nip and tuck

Cultural  

1. Closely contested; neck and neck: “It was nip and tuck there for a while, but our team finally pulled through.”

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nip and tuck Idioms  

1. Very close so that the advantage or lead of competitors keeps shifting, as in It was nip and tuck whether they would deal with the bill before Congress adjourned. The precise allusion in this term has been lost. [Early 1800s] Also see neck and neck.

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Example Sentences

Despite the nip and tuck of this title tussle, BBC Sportsound pundit Leanne Crichton believes there is a chasm between the Glasgow sides – and it is only growing wider.

From BBC • May 11, 2024

“We’ve been nip and tuck on some things, but we’ve always had the same interest and same goal in mind, and that’s winning,” Millsap said at that time of Snyder.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2021

All of this year’s iPhones had a little nip and tuck along the edges.

From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2020

The Music Center gets a nip and tuck, and a critic visits a half-empty LACMA.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2019

It was nip and tuck with you, Mr. Jerrolds, and she simply set her teeth and wouldn't give up!

From Margarita's Soul The Romantic Recollections of a Man of Fifty by Williams, J. Scott (John Scott)