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
at the eleventh hour は「土壇場で」という切迫した場面を強く意識して覚えます。eleventh は12時直前の11時と考えると、もう後がない時点です。交渉が決裂しそう、救助が間に合わなそう、決定を迫られているなど、最後の局面で何かが起こる表現として捉えると自然です。時間切れ寸前の緊張感まで含めて押さえると定着しやすいです。
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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