on a wing and a prayer

Meaning

Prepositional phrase

With the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure.

Related

Similar words

on a whim and a prayer

Origin

Describes a damaged warplane barely able to return to base, possibly originating in the film Flying Tigers (1942) in which the dialog refers to a flight as “coming in on one wing and a prayer”, made popular by the World War II song “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer” with lyrics by Harold Adamson.

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