Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
within an ace of en · ADP
Pronunciation
Meanings
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(idiomatic, slang) Very near; on the point of.
If you have ever been within an ace of a monumental discovery you will understand the torment of anxiety and self-reproach that possessed me.
1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:[The horse] falling with a mighty crash, gave him a purler on the opposite side, and was within an ace of striking him dead with his hoof in frantic struggles to recover.
1867, Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], “The End of a Ringing Run”, in Under Two Flags: A Story of the Household and the Desert. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 119:
Synonyms
within a whisker of