hail mary
Desperate final attempt
A hail mary is a desperate, last-ditch attempt with little chance of success.
The term comes from American football, where a quarterback throws a long pass into the end zone as time expires, hoping for a miracle catch.
Now used broadly for any longshot effort: Filing that appeal was a hail mary, but it worked. (Capitalized Hail Mary is the Catholic prayer.)
Six-point gridiron play
- quarterbackPassing position in football
- endzoneFootball field's scoring rectangle
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
- spiralCurve winding around center
completion · incompletion · interception · fourth down · buzzer-beater · Aaron Rodgers · gridiron · pigskin
Final desperate attempt
- longshotUnlikely to succeed
- gambleStake on uncertain outcome
- do-or-dieDesperately crucial situation
- high-stakesInvolving significant consequences
dire · hopeless · improbable · unlikely · miracle · underdog · dark horse · gambit
touchdown
Six-point gridiron play
- quarterbackPassing position in football
- endzoneFootball field's scoring rectangle
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
spiral · completion · incompletion · interception · fourth down · buzzer-beater · Aaron Rodgers · gridiron · pigskin · playbook
last-ditch
Final desperate attempt
high-stakes · dire · hopeless · improbable · unlikely · miracle · underdog · dark horse · gambit · risk
- footballfootball, touchdown, field goal, quarterback, end zone
- desperate measureslast resort, desperate plea, desperation move, last ditch, last chance
- sports idiomsdrop the ball, throw in the towel, slam dunk, out of left field, level playing field
- sports slangalley-oop, buzzer beater, clutch, dunk, slam dunk
- sports traditionstailgating, huddle, seventh inning stretch, awards banquet, team cheer
- bold movesrisk, dare, gambit, leap, leap of faith
hail marysafe bet
Likely winning wager
sure thing · playing it safe · safe choice · ground game · chip shot
hail marysure thing
Guaranteed outcome or agreement
certainty · lock · slam dunk · foregone conclusion · done deal
hail maryplan A
Preferred course of action
opening gambit · early action · preventive measure · standard procedure · business as usual