| 释义 |
long shot
Also long-shot, longshot.
[f. long a.1 + shot n.1]
1. A shot fired at a distance; a distant range; also attrib.
1791Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 185/1 What our sea men call a long shot fire is the most destructive of any to the rigging of ships. 1814Scott Let. to Southey 17 June, I should be tempted to take a long shot at him [Buonaparte] in his retreat to Elba. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xl. (1856) 362, I ventured the ice, crawled on my belly, and reached long-shot distance. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Long-shot, a distant range. It is also used to express a long way; a far-fetched explanation; something incredible. 1873Young Gentl. Mag. July 490 This did not, however, suit her long-shot tactics.
2. Something incredible or very unlikely; a far-fetched explanation; a wild guess; spec. a bet laid against considerable odds; = outsider 1 b. See also shot n.1 9 d. Also attrib.
1867[see sense 1 above]. 1869Leisure Hour May 326/1 He may also..learn to systematise his turf speculations, may know when it is prudent to ‘back a jockey’ or a long shot. 1906‘O. Henry’ Four Million (1916) 33 A few long-shot winners at the New Orleans race-track. 1939Sun (Baltimore) 30 Nov. 24/7 The long shots won the first and second races. 1955Sci. Amer. Feb. 47/2, I made the first test very simple, because the whole idea seemed a long shot. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 38/1 The other sign that fall has arrived is a sudden surge of long⁓shots from Western Canada speeding across the finish line in first place. 1971Publishers' Weekly 23 Aug. 45/2 Since establishing his company nine years ago, Grossman has played hunches and longshots. 1975New Yorker 20 Jan. 81/1 It was a day for long-shot players.
3. A cinema or television shot which includes figures or scenery at a distance; opp. close-up. orig. U.S.
1922Sci. Amer. Sept. 177/1 A quarter of a mile away, from which distance some of the so-called ‘long shots’ were filmed by the cameraman. 1930Sunday Times 12 Oct. 4/3 Some of the close-ups are brilliantly clear and fascinating in detail, some of the long shots blurred and vague. 1934B.B.C. Year-Bk. 58 The first television programme was transmitted... New ways of using photo cells enabled artists to be followed from ‘long shot’ to ‘close up’ and vice versa. 1962Movie Sept. 7/3 The last shot of the film is a longshot of a general advance. 1974Times 19 Jan. 9/7 We got Griffith in long shot winding up like a clock gone haywire. |