Meanings
plural swings and misses
- idiomaticuncountableusuallyalmost always preceded by aA sincere but unsuccessful attempt.
Beef carpaccio with walnuts, lemon and pecorino is a swing and a miss: almost flavorless.
2009 November 24, Sam Sifton, “Dining and Wine: A Voce Columbus”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2021, retrieved 11 Jan 20162 more examples
A letter arrived from then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's enforcer of the faith, instructing him to behave as a Roman Catholic politician and vote No. . . . And, of course, Mr. Koopmans voted Yes on the legislation. . . . A swing and a miss for Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.
2005 June 4, Michael Valpy, “Dutch, Belgians take gay marriage in stride”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, archived from the original on 23 Jan 2025, retrieved 11 Jan 2016In her defense, she's not ever been at this level of national politics before but Tuesday night's speech felt like a swing and a miss for Ayotte.
2012 August 28, Chris Cillizza, “Republican National Convention night one: Winners and Losers”, in Washington Post, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2015, retrieved 11 Jan 2016
Origin
An allusion to unsuccessful physical actions in such sports as cricket, baseball or boxing, as when swinging a bat at a pitched ball or when throwing a punch at an opponent.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Japanese 空振り
- 空振り (karaburi)Translations
Korean 헛스윙
- 헛스윙 (heotseuwing)Translations
Cite this entry
swing and a miss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20and%20a%20miss
“swing and a miss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20and%20a%20miss. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swing and a miss,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20and%20a%20miss.
Source: swing and a miss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.