nip and tuck

English

Two racers going nip and tuck.

Alternative forms

• nip-and-tuck

Etymology

Of unknown origin. First use appears c. 1845, in the publication American Whig Review.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

nip and tuck (comparative more nip and tuck, superlative most nip and tuck)

1. (idiomatic) So evenly matched that the advantage shifts from one to the other, and the outcome is uncertain.
   • 1867 September, C. H. Webb, “My Mexican Mines”, in Harper's Magazine, volume XXXV, number CCVIII, page 461:

     It was nip and tuck with me between holding on to my stock and being sold out; but by great industry and prudence I managed to keep a little ahead and my mouth above water.

   • 1889, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, New York, N.Y.: Charles L. Webster & Company, →OCLC:

     Bang! One saddle empty. Bang! another one. Bang—bang, and I bagged two. Well, it was nip and tuck with us, and I knew it.

   • 1906–1907, Jack London, chapter XII, in Before Adam:

     We broke away toward the north, the tribe howling on our track. Across the open spaces we gained, and in the brush they caught up with us, and more than once it was nip and tuck.

   • 1951, Howdy Doody's Christmas

     Well, it was nip and tuck, but everything worked out fine. Santa Claus got there in time to bring toys to all the boys and girls.

See also

• neck and neck

Adverb

nip and tuck (comparative more nip and tuck, superlative most nip and tuck)

1. With the advantage of changing hands, or shifting back and forth among the available alternatives.
   • 1901 May, Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Crisis, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     A man told me that they was both admitted to practice in the S'preme Court in '39, on the same day, sir. Then you know they was nip an' tuck after the same young lady.

   • 1913, Will N. Harben, The Desired Woman‎^[1]:

     "I am glad I happened to reach him," he said, in an effort to relieve her embarrassment. "We had it nip and tuck," he added, lightly. "My lungs are lined with dust."

   • 2009, Alec M. Gallup, Frank Newport, Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 2008‎^[2], page 379:

     Obama's road to the White House was far from assured during the 2008 primary season when he ran nip and tuck with McCain in early Gallup Poll trial heats for the general election.

Translations

evenly matched with vacillating advantage

• Finnish: tasaväkisesti, nipin napin (fi)
• French: coude à coude (fr)
• Italian: testa a testa
• Korean: 막상막하 (ko) (maksangmakha), 비금비금 (bigeumbigeum), 삐까삐까 (ppikkappikka) (slang)
• Polish: łeb w łeb (pl)
• Russian: вро́вень (ru) (vróvenʹ), плечо́м к плечу́ (plečóm k plečú), ноздря́ в ноздрю́ (nozdrjá v nozdrjú)

Noun

nip and tuck (plural nip and tucks or nips and tucks)

1. (surgery) Minor cosmetic surgery that tightens loose skin.

   Synonyms: rhytidectomy, facelift

   • 2007, Joseph Natoli, This Is a Picture and Not the World: Movies and a Post-9/11 America, SUNY Press, →ISBN, page 252:

     I watch the show where Paris Hilton and Nikki Ritchie^[sic] live the simple life. […] It's makeovers, nip and tucks, and shopping sprees.

Coordinate terms

• tummy tuck

Translations

skin-tightening cosmetic surgery

• Italian: ritidectomia (it) f, ritidoplastica (it) f, lifting (it) m
• Russian: ли́фтинг (ru) m (lífting), подтя́жка ко́жи f (podtjážka kóži)