shot in the dark
Slang Dictionary

shot definition


  1. n.
    a try at something. : Go ahead. Give it another shot.
  2. mod.
    exhausted; ruined. : Here's your pen back. It's shot anyway.
  3. n.
    a rocket launching. : The shot was canceled because of the weather.
  4. n.
    a small or quickly drunk drink of liquor, usually whiskey. : He stopped at every bar on the strip for a quick shot.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Slang Dictionary

shot in the dark definition


  1. n.
    a very general attempt; a wild guess. : It was just a shot in the dark. I had no idea I was exactly correct.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

shot in the dark

A wild, unsubstantiated guess; also, an attempt that has little chance for success. For example, It was a shot in the dark, but the engineers had a hunch that replacing the valve would make the system work, or You can try looking for your key on the beach, but I think it's a shot in the dark. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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