A: Do you think your school basketball team can make it into the national championships this year?

B: After last week’s loss, their chances of getting into the championships are hanging by a thread.

Note: Literally, the idiom means “to be attached only by single thread, strand, or something similar.” If something is hanging by a thread, it usually denotes that it is ready to fall apart or that the situation can change in an instant. In other words, the situation is precarious. The term derives from the banquet that King Dionysius held for Damocles, a courtier of ancient Syracuse. King Dionysius was beginning to become annoyed with Damocles’ constant flattery of his king. He invited him to a banquet, where Damocles was seated under a sword suspended by a single hair. This also gave rise to the idea that someone can have the sword of Damocles hanging over them, meaning they are in a very precarious situation.