at the eleventh hour
土壇場で
解説 Definition
締め切りや期限のぎりぎり最後の瞬間に行動すること。土壇場での対応。
At the eleventh hour means at the last possible moment, just before it is too late. It is commonly used for late decisions, sudden changes, or actions taken under time pressure. The phrase often gives a slightly dramatic feeling.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
eleventh=11番目、hour=時なので、「12時が締め切りなのに11時になってようやく動く」場面を頭に置くと残りやすい表現です。last minute に近いですが、at the eleventh hour は「もっと前にできたのに、本当にぎりぎりで」という土壇場感がより強め。a deal was reached at the eleventh hour、an eleventh-hour decision のように、交渉・判断・修正が期限直前にまとまる文脈でよく出ます。文字どおり11時の話ではない点にも注意。
Picture a deadline at twelve o'clock and action finally happening at eleven. That image makes the phrase easy to remember: very late, almost too late. It is close to `at the last minute`, but it often feels more dramatic. You will often see it in deals, decisions, or repairs made just before the deadline.
例文
At the eleventh hour, the negotiators finally reached a compromise and avoided a government shutdown.
土壇場で交渉者たちはようやく妥協に達し、政府閉鎖を回避した。
She submitted her application at the eleventh hour, just minutes before the deadline.
彼女は締め切りのわずか数分前、土壇場で申請書を提出した。
The rescue team arrived at the eleventh hour and saved the trapped hikers.
救助隊がぎりぎりのところで到着し、閉じ込められたハイカーたちを救出した。
at the eleventh hour の類義語・関連語
at the eleventh hour の語源・成り立ち Etymology
eleventhはeleven+-th、hourは古フランス語horeを経てラテン語hora、さらにギリシャ語horaに由来します。horologyやhoroscopeと同根で、聖書の「十一時に雇われた者たち」から、at the eleventh hour は「土壇場で」を表す表現になりました。
"Eleventh" is built from "eleven" plus the ordinal ending "-th," and "hour" came through Old French from Latin "hora," originally from Greek. The phrase became famous from the Bible, in the story of workers hired at the eleventh hour. Because of that, it came to mean something happening at the very last possible moment.
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