within an ace of

Idioms and Phrases

Also, within an inch of . Very close to, within a narrow margin of, as in We were within an ace of calling you, but we'd lost your phone number , or We were within an inch of buying tickets for that concert . The first term refers to the ace of dice, that is, the one pip on a die. The lowest number one can throw with a pair of dice is two (two aces), a throw that is within an ace of one. The term began to be used for other kinds of near miss by about 1700.