near thing

The visitors were first to the ball each time in a series of near things before the substitute thundered a shot off the underside of the crossbar.

The Air National Guard used the site into the 1930s, and it was a very near thing: Griffith Park, not LAX, was almost the site of the city’s first airport.

He is in both the pro and college football halls of fame, and the lacrosse hall as well, although his selection to the college hall was a near thing.

It was a near thing, though, even in California.

The bowler is interested in the near thing, but the better chance of the wicket comes at the non-striker’s end.