Silas Prophet proffers:

One of the phrases that gets my dander up is “racing against the clock“. This time of year some city service is always “racing against the clock to get the roads salted before the next snowfall.” Political candidates race against the clock as election day approaches. Mediators race against the clock to resolve delicate issues during a cease-fire.
I can almost stomach that cliche when it’s applied in sports (except baseball, where, of course, there is no clock) although, even there it’s over-used.

A local newscaster recently reported that the mayor was “literally racing against the clock…” (the flagrantly improper use of ‘literally’ is another peeve). My overactive imagination pictured the mayor in a foot race with a life-size clock, sweating profusely and trailing by a second-hand.