win by a nose
Also, win by a whisker. Just barely succeed, as in Sally's political cartoon came in first in the contest, but I heard that she won by a nose. This term comes from horseracing, where from about 1900 on it referred to a finish so close that only a portion of the horse's nose reached the finish ahead of the second horse. A whisker—that is, a hair—is a narrower margin yet. [Second half of 1900s]
Words nearby win by a nose
wimp out,
wimple,
wimpy,
wimshurst machine,
win,
win by a nose,
win hands down,
win on points,
win one's spurs,
win out,
win over