English · Idiom Historical

at the eleventh hour

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Just in time not to be too late; only just in time to obtain some benefit. The allusion is to the parable of labourers hired for the vineyard (Matt. xx).

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “at the eleventh hour” mean?

Just in time not to be too late; only just in time to obtain some benefit. The allusion is to the parable of labourers hired for the vineyard (Matt. xx).

Is “at the eleventh hour” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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