go the distance
English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]go the distance (third-person singular simple present goes the distance, present participle going the distance, simple past went the distance, past participle gone the distance)
- (boxing) To participate in a boxing match for its maximum number of rounds.
- 1915, Jack London, chapter 20, in The Little Lady of the Big House:
- "In a way it's like the quality of muscle and heart that enables some prizefighters to go the distance—twenty, thirty, forty rounds, say," Dick concurred.
- 1976 November 21, Rocky, spoken by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone):
- It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, even, cause I all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, seein' that bell ring and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.
- (idiomatic, by extension) To have the endurance to see a difficult, sustained challenge to its natural end without faltering.
- 1920, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 4, in The Devil's Paw:
- "Do you notice how every one is trying to avoid the subject of the war? . . . I am sure they cannot keep it up."
"They won't go the distance," Julian whispered.
- 2013 October 18, Chad Bray, “HSBC to Appeal $2.46 Billion Judgment”, in New York Times, retrieved 23 June 2014:
- “We are very pleased that we went the distance in this case, all the way through a jury trial, and that we were able to obtain such a tremendous recovery for shareholders.”
- 2023 May 1, Steve Sutcliffe, “World Snooker Championship 2023 final: Luca Brecel beats Mark Selby for first world title”, in BBC Sport:
- Selby's charge continued with a half-century in the 30th frame and a fluked red set him on the way to winning the 31st frame.
That opened up the possibility of a first Crucible finale to go the distance since Peter Ebdon's 18-17 victory over Stephen Hendry in 2002, but Brecel recovered his composure to get across the line for an emotional victory.