What does ‘a shot in the dark’ mean?
To “a shot in the dark” means to a wild guess. A modern English idiom; the image is of firing without seeing the target.
Origin
- A modern English idiom; the image is of firing without seeing the target.
How to use it
- Common qualifier before speculation.
- Example: It's a shot in the dark, but I'd say they'll cut the rate.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.