wing » wink

Chiefly in:   on a wink and a prayer

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • What about the cables? Do they plug in properly or is the connection made on a wink and a prayer? (link)
  • All these diseases, operations, medications, and endoscopic surgeries can be stopped in a wink and a prayer simply by removing the cause. (link)
  • The Chicago KIngs were founded on a wink and a prayer by four enterprising young dykes in February 2001. (link)
  • “I want this to be the kind of team that tries to make things happen,” he said. “It was kind of a wink-and-a-prayer sort of thing. We thought we’d give it a whirl and it kicked us in the tail.” (Little Falls Times)

Analyzed or reported by:

The original metaphor, referring to the hazards of aviation, has become so obscure that several variants are now in circulation, with slightly different connotations. See also on _a whim and a prayer_.

| link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2005/07/03 |

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