CLOSE-BY-A-HAIR: The
American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "close-by-a-hair / by-a-hair
/ almost"
The sign "close-by-a-hair" means: "That was a close
one!"
Reach up and grab an imaginary hair on the side of your upper forehead. Using and extremely quick arching movement pull the hair out and then move it downward a few inches.
Sample sentence: YOU SOMETIMES PASS CLASS BY-A-HAIR YOU?
"BY-A-HAIR" is an "ASL idiom." The sign appears to depict the "pulling of a hair" but in actuality conveys the meaning of "nearly," "almost," "that was a close one," and "narrowly escaped a negative happening."
Notes:
See: ALMOST
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