dying gasp

English

dying gasp (plural dying gasps)

The last breath taken before death.
(figurative) The last moments, or final period, of something that becomes obsolete or inactive.
- 1951, IBM Corp., Proceedings, Computation Seminar, page 13:
  To replace logarithmic tables with natural tables required some time. This seems like a modern age, yet I am not an octogenarian and I can remember the dying gasp of the logarithmic table as the standard method of computation. I have seen the desk calculator become a necessary instrument for every scientist who is doing quantitative work.

the last breath taken before death