Meanings
- 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
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseWith the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure.
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Russian на че́стном сло́ве и на одно́м крыле́
- на че́стном сло́ве и на одно́м крыле́ (na čéstnom slóve i na odnóm krylé)with the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure
Cite this entry
on a wing and a prayer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20wing%20and%20a%20prayer
“on a wing and a prayer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20wing%20and%20a%20prayer. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on a wing and a prayer,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20wing%20and%20a%20prayer.
Source: on a wing and a prayer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.