Question of the Day #1052

On a Wing and a Prayer

From the headline of this article at Plugged In.

  上記の文で、on a wing and a prayerの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "on a wing and a prayer" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

辛うじて、やっとのことで、運にすがって

   

Answer

According to the Collins Dictionary:

with only the slightest hope of succeeding

 

語源

英辞郎によると、

ひどい損傷を受けて帰還する戦闘機が、搭乗員の祈りによってやっと飛んでいるように感じられたことから。

 

Etymology

According to The Phrase Finder:

This phrase originated during WWII. The earliest reference that I can find to it is in the 1942 film The Flying Tigers. The screenplay, which was written by Kenneth Gamet and Barry Trivers, has John Wayne's character Captain Jim Gordon says this in a reference to the flight of replacement pilots:

Gordon: Any word on that flight yet?
Rangoon hotel clerk: Yes sir, it was attacked and fired on by Japanese aircraft. She's coming in on one wing and a prayer.

   

Examples

• With hardly any funding and a staff of six, they were operating on a wing and a prayer.
• His whole budget was based on a wing and a prayer. The Guardian (2021)
• When we opened our first salon, we did it on a wing and a prayer. Times, Sunday Times (2010)
• Last Sunday, out of desperation and on a wing and a prayer, Colmenares and his wife took their children, ranging from age 16 months to 12 years old and marched across the Rio Grande. —Dallas News, 31 Oct. 2022
• And the new fashion of last-minute ticket buying is confounding an industry that is forced to invest most of its capital up front, on a wing and a prayer. —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022

   

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