
IdiomDaily Life
English
on a wing and a prayer
Meaning: Only just managing, with luck rather than means.
Example: “The old van got us to the coast on a wing and a prayer.”
Origin: From the Second World War: a 1943 American song, "Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer," about a damaged bomber limping home.
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: на честном слове и на одном крыле (na chestnom slove i na odnom kryle) Literally: On honest word and on one wing
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