go down to the wire —(also: come down to the wire) continue to the very last moment or the very end:
- The game will go down to the wire but in the end the Uconn Huskies should pull away as national champions.
go under the wire —(also: come under the wire)
1. be at the finishing-line of a racecourse:
- Like an irresistible, perfect piece of mechanism she sailed on; and went under the wire a clear winner….
2. come at the last possible moment:
- It was not front page news and I guess went under the wire many places. The timing of this announcement was indeed bad.
3. get free from detention camp (surrounded by barbed wire) by flight:
- He hasn’t assimilated. He doesn’t want to be here. And he might go under the wire first chance he gets.