last minute

1. idiomaticAn arbitrary (non-specific) point in time, too close to a deadline to reasonably begin a critical task.

   I like to do everything at the last minute. It does tend to make me late for things, though.

   1 more example

   “Clown Without Pity,” as the segment is called, opens with Homer forgetting Bart’s birthday and jetting off at the last minute (or rather considerably after the last minute) to pick him up a present. Alas, Homer has the questionable judgment to go gift-shopping at House Of Evil, an establishment that bills itself as “Your one stop evil shop.” That should be a bit of a warning, as is the establishment’s name.

   2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in AV Club, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2013

comparative more last minute · superlative most last minute

1. idiomaticVery close to a deadline.

   That last minute revision really paid off in the exam!

   2 more examples

   “In ten years, this is the most last-minute holiday season that we have ever seen,” a Citigroup analyst, Deborah Weinswig, tells ABC News.

   2009, Hank Stuever, Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present, page 211

   “It can be exhilarating but it can be boring, too,” he said. “I preferred it when it was more last minute, when the adrenaline kicked in.”

   2020 August 15, Gavin Newsham, “How the Secret Service protects the president’s golf game”, in New York Post, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2020