nip and tuck

1. Closely contested; neck and neck: “It was nip and tuck there for a while, but our team finally pulled through.”

Idioms and Phrases

Very close so that the advantage or lead of competitors keeps shifting, as in It was nip and tuck whether they would deal with the bill before Congress adjourned . The precise allusion in this term has been lost. [Early 1800s] Also see neck and neck .