At the last minute

Learn the English expression, "At the last minute"

Have you heard the expression, "at the last minute?" It means to do something almost as late as you possibly can--right before it's too late.

Sometimes we decide to do things at the last minute.

If you celebrate Christmas, you might buy gifts for friends and family. If you wait until December 23 to do your shopping, you're doing it at the last minute. There isn't much time left!

But sometimes it's not our choice. Imagine you have an appointment to get your hair cut at 11:00 . But you have an emergency at 10:15 : now you can't make your appointment. You have to cancel it at the last minute.

"At the last minute" isn't about a specific time. It's about the feeling that something is happening very late--almost as late as it could possibly happen.

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Practice: Read the transcript of this episode, take a quiz, and practice using "At the last minute": https://plainenglish.com/expressions/at-the-last-minute

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