beat the clock

He and Mr. Goldie have managed to beat the clock, finishing and printing the book themselves while Mr. Murray is still alive.

Judge Randall Thomas dropped a dozen theft charges against Hunt . . ., ruling that the indictment came after a three-year state statute of limitations had run out. One ethics charge—punishable by up to $10,000 and 10 years behind bars—did beat the clock.

[T]he man who looked like an ageing rocker trying to beat the clock, was none other than Robert Lee Vesco.