die by inches Idiom, Proverb
by inches|inch|inches
adv. phr. By small or slow degrees; little by little; gradually.
The river was rising by inches. They got a heavy wooden beam under the barn for a lever, and managed to move it by inches. He was dying by inches.
where the shoe pinches|pinches|shoe|where
n. phr.,
informal Where or what the discomfort or trouble is.
Johnny thinks the job is easy, but he will find out where the shoe pinches when he tries it. The coach said he wasn't worried about any position except quarterback; that was where the shoe pinched.
by inches
by inches Also,
inch by inch. Gradually, bit by bit, as in
We found ourselves in rush hour traffic, moving by inches. Shakespeare used this term in
Coriolanus (5:4): “They'll give him death by inches.” Despite the increasing use of metric measurements, it survives, often as an exaggeration of the actual circumstance. The phrase
to inch along, first recorded in 1812, means “to move bit by bit,” as in
There was a long line at the theater, just inching along.die by inches
To die boring over time. With an affliction like this, Jamie's tumors will accumulate growing and she will die by inches—unless we do the beginning surgery.Learn more: by, die, inch
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