cliché: at the eleventh hour

Meaning: at the last possible moment (definition).

Example: They averted a strike reaching an agreement at the 11^th hour. (Examples.)

Origins: The Bible – the last hour of sunlight before darkness sets in at the 11^th hour. (Sources.)

Rewrites:

• a quarter to too late
• at the moment of last resort
• with time only to utter the final word
• with the clock showing just shy of “too late”
• between 1 and 0 in the final countdown

Discussion: I struggled to find a closer revision of the actual words “the 11^th hour” but it was a toughie. What ideas do you have?

cliché: at the crack of dawn

Meaning: When the light of day first appears (definition).

Example: The stars begin to disappear at the crack of dawn. (Examples.)

Origins: Old English, “crack” means “moment”, thus “moment of dawn.” (Sources.)

Rewrites:

• at the smack of dawn
• at break of day
• as light of day peeps
• as the sun wakens
• as night calls it a day

Discussion: This one was harder to rewrite than I thought it would be. What other metaphors have you created?