How to Deal With a Late Delivery Date

Testers are typically the last step in a long sequence. All of the delays sort of accumulate, and then everybody pressures the testers to get the tests done quickly so that the thing can be finally released. If you've been working properly, you've captured the highest priority items first. Are there lower priority items that you can trim? Can you be flexible about the scope? Or if not, at the very least, raise the problem early.