buying himself some breathing room

Just a week ago, Trump had succeeded in buying himself some breathing room when the New York State court of appeals agreed to lower the amount of the bond Trump had to put up. Initially he was on the hook for the full $454 million verdict amount.

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give (one) (some/a little) breathing room (redirected from gives us some breathing room)
give (one) (some/a little) breathing room
1. To provide one with more physical space around oneself, so that one does not feel constricted or smothered.
I'm a doctor, let me see if I can help. Please, move back and give us breathing room.
2. To allow one a sufficient buffer of time, money, etc., that provides some relief from a given source of pressure or stress.
My yearly bonus always gives us a little breathing room for the Christmas expenses.
The professor knew we had a bunch of exams all in one week, so she extended the deadline for our midterm papers to give us all some breathing room.
See also: breathing, give, room

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buy time | American Dictionary. idiom. Add to word list. to do something that allows you to have more time to finish something: He tried to buy time by saying he wasn't feeling well. (Definition of buy time from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge