on a wing and a prayer

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English

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Etymology

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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.

Prepositional phrase

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on a wing and a prayer

  1. With the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure.
    After seeing half the senior staff walk out, the school opened the new year on a wing and a prayer.

Synonyms

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Translations

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