the.com/home straight
The final stretch where effort stops being optional and starts being visible.
means The last, final stretch of a task or race, close enough to the end that finishing is in sight.
from Straight from horse racing — the 'straight' is the final straightaway stretch of track leading to the finish line, no curves left to hide in. 'Home' here means the finish, the stable, the end of the run. By the 19th century the phrase had cantered off the track entirely and into everyday speech for any last leg of effort — exams, journeys, deadlines — anywhere the finish is finally visible and there's nowhere left to coast.
- origin
- horse racing term for the final run-in
- psychology
- motivation spikes most near perceived finish lines
- misuse
- often declared way too early by optimists
- irony
- where most collapses and comebacks both happen