A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

beat someone to the draw • beat someone to the
punch
beat someone to the draw —
1
. shoot quicker than an opponent
in a gun fight: He called me out in Tucson and I beat him to
the draw, placing a bullet right through his heart. 2. get some-
where or obtain smth. before smb. else does: I beat him to the
draw and reported him to the superintendent myself, and gave
my version of the story.
beat someone to the punch —
1
. (Boxing ) land a blow before
one’s opponent can strike: I beat Hanley to the punch and he
went down on his haunches. 2. = beat someone to the draw 2:
Once in possession of those weapons, the tyrant would be un-
deterrable. The national security depended on beating him to
the punch.
Note:
Neither expression is equivalent in meaning to the phrase
beat someone to the wire
—(UK also: beat someone to ribands)
defeat smb. in a race or contest; show oneself superior to a person:
I’ve been teased a few times over the years by the boy jockeys,
but once I beat them to the wire a few times they quit teasing
me so much.
beat someone’s time • it beats my time
beat someone’s time—
1
. (Sport) improve on a person’s achieve -
ment: Samson wins the race, but Xena, off in the women’s
Olympics, beats his time anyway. 2. (coll.) obtain or achieve
smth. ahead of another: Well, I thought I was up for that pro-
motion but he beat my time with his latest project. 3. (coll.)
start a romantic relationship with smb.’s partner: Suppose
Celia was in love with some man and Elspeth beat her time
with him.
it beats my time —(coll., also: it beats me) it surpasses my un-
derstanding; it leaves me mystified: When she took up the
pan she was puzzled to find that several biscuits were missing.
“It beats my time,” she said, aloud.