hang by a thread

After dropping Game 1 in their best-of-three set against the Red Sox, their World Series aspirations were left hanging by a thread before the calendar even turned to October.

Players who don't have the manager's back might not strain every last sinew when they know his job is hanging by a thread.

The prime minister denied his leadership was "hanging by a thread" amidst reports the Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham is preparing a leadership challenge.

In virtually every case, they are sinking in the polls and facing incoming fire from all directions, and now seem to hang by a thread over a dark electoral abyss.

Their chances of making the quarter-finals are hanging by a thread, with Canada and Scotland very much in the driving seat to progress from Pool B.