nip and tuck
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Extremely close and competitive, with an uncertain outcome: Describes a situation, especially a race or contest, where the participants are so close that the winner is difficult to predict until the very end.
Adverb:
- In a very close and even manner: Describes the way in which two or more competitors are performing, being nearly equal and side-by-side.
Noun:
- A cosmetic surgical procedure to reduce signs of facial aging: A specific type of operation where facial skin is tightened, commonly known as a facelift. (Note: This is a distinct, idiomatic usage.)
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- The basketball game was nip and tuck until the final buzzer.
- It was a nip and tuck race for the championship.
Adverb:
- The two cyclists raced nip and tuck for the last ten miles.
- The candidates are running nip and tuck in the latest polls.
Noun:
- She considered getting a nip and tuck to look younger.
- The celebrity's youthful appearance was rumored to be the result of a nip and tuck.
Advanced Usage
- The adjectival and adverbial forms are often used interchangeably with the phrase "neck and neck."
- As a noun, it is an informal, slightly euphemistic term for a facelift (rhytidectomy).
Variants and Related Words
- Neck and neck (adj/adv): A direct synonym for the competitive senses of "nip and tuck."
- Facelift (n): The more common, formal term for the cosmetic surgery procedure.
- Photo finish (n): A result in a race so close it must be determined by a photograph, often the outcome of a nip and tuck contest.
Synonyms
- Adjective/Adverb: Tied, even, close, deadlocked, level.
- Noun: Rhytidectomy, cosmetic surgery, facelift.
Related Idioms
- Too close to call: An idiom with a very similar meaning to the adjectival form of "nip and tuck," describing an undecided competition.
- A close shave: While often about a narrow escape from danger, it can conceptually relate to the "closeness" implied by "nip and tuck."
Adjective
- inconclusive as to outcome; close or just even in a race or comparison or competition
- as they approached the finish line they were neck and neck
- the election was a nip and tuck affair
Adverb
- even or close in a race or competition or comparison
- the horses ran neck and neck
- he won nip and tuck
Noun
- plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face; an incision is made near the hair line and skin is pulled back and excess tissue is excised
- some actresses have more than one face lift