on a wing and a prayer

English

Etymology

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

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

• on a whim and a prayer

Translations

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

• Russian: на честном слове и на одном крыле (ru) (na čestnom slove i na odnom kryle)