A long shot

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/2013/01/130110_todays_phrase_a_long_shot.shtml

Germany's Florian Mayer misses a shot against Australia's Bernard Tomic during the Sydney International tennis tournament

Florian Mayer misses a shot against Australia's Bernard Tomic during the Sydney International tennis tournament. Photo: Daniel Munoz/Reuters

Today's Phrase

If something is a long shot, it is very unlikely to happen.
Examples
I'm looking for a first edition of Alice in Wonderland for my mother's birthday. I know it's a long shot, but do you have one in stock?

My favourite football team is in the cup final at the weekend. I think we could win, but it's a long shot.

We could ask the company to replace your broken smartphone for free. It's a long shot, but it's worth trying.

Take note

If you take a shot in the dark, you guess at something.
A: How old do you think I am?
B: I'll take a shot in the dark and say 40.

Interesting fact

There are seven different types of shot in the game of tennis: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, slice, smash and lob. They are named after the manner in which they are struck or the point in the game at which they are struck.