within an ace of

Idioms  

1. Also, within an inch of. Very close to, within a narrow margin of, as in We were within an ace of calling you, but we'd lost your phone number, or We were within an inch of buying tickets for that concert. The first term refers to the ace of dice, that is, the one pip on a die. The lowest number one can throw with a pair of dice is two (two aces), a throw that is within an ace of one. The term began to be used for other kinds of near miss by about 1700.

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Example Sentences

The judge, Recorder Simon Parrington, told Baston he was "within an ace" of going away.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2022

He recounts in particular a shocking episode in which, in a covert maneuver, a Japanese aerospace consortium came within an ace of acquiring much of the accumulated aeronautical knowledge of McDonnell Douglas.

From Forbes • Nov. 10, 2013

Perhaps it is bound to come within an ace of the romantic novelette.

From The Guardian • Dec. 24, 2010

In 1932 Roosevelt came within an ace of carrying Pennsylvania and the next year Robert Lee Vann found himself Special Assistant Attorney General of the U. S. Mr. Vann did not neglect Pennsylvania.

From Time Magazine Archive

Parkinson was hauled before the Privy Council for questioning and came within an ace of being dispatched in irons to Australia before the charges against him were quietly dropped.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson