wire [OE] The base of wire probably meant ‘to plait or weave’. In the 1850s people started taking or sending a message by wire, or by telegraph. If a situation goes down to the wire its outcome is not decided until the very last minute. This expression originated in the USA in the late 19th century and comes from the world of horse racing. Racecourses there have a wire stretched across and above the finishing line: a race that goes down to the wire is one in which the horses are neck and *neck right to the finish.