They reached a deal at the eleventh hour.
the eleventh hour
idiomThe very last possible moment before a deadline or a decisive event.
Origin
The phrase comes from Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard, in Matthew 20:1-16. A landowner hires labourers throughout the day, some at dawn and some as late as the eleventh hour — the last working hour before sunset in a day counted from six in the morning. At day's end he pays them all the same wage, to the loud complaint of those who started early.
The parable is about grace rather than time-keeping, but it is the eleventh-hour hiring that lodged in the language: those latecomers who arrived with barely any daylight left and were still taken on.
Detached from the vineyard, the eleventh hour now simply means the last possible moment — the point at which time has almost run out. An eleventh-hour deal is one struck just before a deadline that would otherwise have passed.
An eleventh-hour donation saved the theatre from closing.
Negotiators worked through the night and produced an eleventh-hour agreement, signed with only minutes to spare before the strike was due to begin.
The short stories Jesus told to make a point.
- 01
good Samaritan (idiom)
A person who helps someone in distress out of their own good nature.
- 02
the prodigal son (idiom)
Someone who returns, chastened and repentant, after a period of reckless or wasteful living.
- 03
separate the wheat from the chaff (idiom)
To select only that which is of value.
- 04
a house built on sand (idiom)
A plan or venture with no solid foundation, liable to collapse under pressure.
- 05
the widow's mite (idiom)
A small gift that represents a great sacrifice for the person who gives it.
- 06
a good and faithful servant (idiom)
Someone praised for loyal, diligent, and dependable service.