neck and neck

Definition

Very close in progress, as in a race or a contest.

Etymology

Figurative, from the image of competing horses abreast in a horse race who are so even (headed for a tie) that their necks are side-by-side.

Example Sentences

• "The polls suggest that the candidates were neck and neck in the election."
• "It lay between me and Dick Riot madam; we were neck and neck for three miles, as hard as we could lay leg to ground, and running every inch, but at the first, I felt for him, found I had the foot […]"
• "Mr. Prendergast's Rainbow filly, watched closely by Paul Jones, took the lead, and they ran almost neck and neck until near the cords, when Paul Jones made a rush, and came home by a length."