eleventh-hour
eleventh-hour — 慣用語
1. done or happening at the very last moment, when there is almost no time left and
最後一刻
在最後可能的時間點
done or happening at the very last moment, when there is almost no time left and a situation could easily fail or go wrong
Firefighters arrived at the eleventh hour and pulled the family from the burning house.
消防隊員在最後一刻趕到，將一家人從燃燒的房子裡救了出來。
An eleventh-hour deal between the two companies saved three hundred jobs at the factory.
兩家公司在最後一刻達成的協議，保住了工廠的三百個工作機會。
attributive use: eleventh-hour + noun (deal/rescue/decision)
Lin submitted her university application at the eleventh hour, just minutes before the deadline.
Lin 在最後一刻才送出大學申請，距離截止時間只剩幾分鐘。
The government announced an eleventh-hour rescue plan for the struggling national railway.
政府針對陷入困境的全國鐵路宣布了一項最後一刻的救援計畫。
A last-minute donor gave the theatre enough money at the eleventh hour to stay open.
一位最後關頭出現的捐款人給了劇院足夠的資金讓它繼續營業。
collocation: at the eleventh hour
- at the eleventh hour
- eleventh-hour decision
- eleventh-hour rescue
- eleventh-hour deal
- eleventh-hour compromise
- last minute
more common in everyday conversation; interchangeable in most contexts
- just in time
emphasises the successful outcome rather than the lateness itself
- in the nick of time
more informal and dramatic; suggests a very narrow escape from disaster
- well in advance
suggests careful planning and completion long before the deadline
- ahead of schedule
implies early completion relative to a planned timeline
文法句型
at the eleventh hour
eleventh-hour + noun
用法筆記
Often used as an adjective before a noun (e.g. eleventh-hour decision, eleventh-hour rescue). Can also appear after the preposition 'at' as an adverbial phrase.
常見錯誤
eleventh-hour — 名詞
1. the final point at which it is still possible to act before a deadline or before
最晚時機
做某事的最後可能時間
the final point at which it is still possible to act before a deadline or before a situation becomes hopeless
The negotiators worked right up to the eleventh hour before reaching an agreement.
談判人員一直工作到最後一刻才達成協議。
Yuki always leaves her homework until the eleventh hour and rushes to finish it.
Yuki 總是把自己的作業拖到最後一刻才匆忙完成。
pattern: leave [something] until the eleventh hour
Doctors kept fighting for the patient's life until the eleventh hour.
醫生們為了救病人的命，一直奮戰到最後一刻。
Waiting until the eleventh hour to buy plane tickets usually costs more money.
等到最後一刻才買機票，通常得多花錢。
- until the eleventh hour
- right up to the eleventh hour
- at the eleventh hour
- before the eleventh hour
- the final moment
more general and less figurative than the biblical 'eleventh hour'
- the last possible moment
the literal paraphrase; interchangeable in most contexts
- plenty of time
suggests a comfortable margin before the deadline
文法句型
until / at / before + the eleventh hour
用法筆記
Functions as a noun phrase, typically after prepositions such as 'at', 'until', or 'before'. Unlike the idiom entry, this sense is not used as an attributive adjective before another noun.