[anniecarvl]

I find it strange when companies use this terminology:

"We were exploring different strategic options, but deals fell through last minute."

Of course deals fall trough last minute. It's not like they would fall through a few months in advance.

[mikeash]

Why not? Deals can easily fall through in early stages. "Last minute" basically means the details were pretty much hammered out, everybody was just about ready to sign, then something happened to scuttle it.

[BWStearns]

I think he was suggesting that when something falls apart it's always at the last minute for that something. Kind of like how you always find something in the last place you look. I guess it's kind of accurate since you wouldn't describe an early stage deal as having "fell through".

[mikeash]

That doesn't make any sense. If the deal falls through in the middle of negotiations, you would never describe that as "at the last minute" even though it turned out to literally be the last minute for that particular deal. That phrase means "right before we would have completed the deal," not "right before we stopped."

[BWStearns]

Sorry, I wasn't intending to say it was correct, only that I think it's the only way to read what he wrote as internally consistent.