Idiom
swing and a miss
Meaning
A sincere but unsuccessful attempt.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That was a swing and a miss on your first try.”
“My joke about the weather is a total swing and a miss.”
“Your guess about my age is a swing and a miss.”
“He tried to impress his boss with a new strategy, but it was a swing and a miss.”
“I tried to fix the leaky faucet myself to save money, but it was a swing and a miss because the kitchen flooded.”
“She spent all weekend cooking a complicated French meal for her parents, but unfortunately, the dish was a swing and a miss.”
“The marketing team hoped the new slogan would attract younger customers, but the campaign was a swing and a miss that failed to increase sales.”
“Despite his ambitious efforts to reform the department, the proposal proved to be a swing and a miss that left the board unimpressed.”
Examples
simple
“That was a swing and a miss on your first try.”
“My joke about the weather is a total swing and a miss.”
“Your guess about my age is a swing and a miss.”
contextual
“He tried to impress his boss with a new strategy, but it was a swing and a miss.”
“I tried to fix the leaky faucet myself to save money, but it was a swing and a miss because the kitchen flooded.”
“She spent all weekend cooking a complicated French meal for her parents, but unfortunately, the dish was a swing and a miss.”
“The marketing team hoped the new slogan would attract younger customers, but the campaign was a swing and a miss that failed to increase sales.”
complex
“Despite his ambitious efforts to reform the department, the proposal proved to be a swing and a miss that left the board unimpressed.”
Origin
The expression draws upon the mechanics of unsuccessful exertion in sports such as cricket, baseball, and boxing. It alludes to the precise moment a participant swings a bat at a pitched ball or throws a punch at an opponent, only to make contact with the air. The physical failure of the motion provides the metaphorical basis for the phrase.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated