Not by a long shot

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nick - 21 Jan 2004 16:27 GMT

What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?

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R H Draney - 21 Jan 2004 18:13 GMT

nick filted:

>What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?

A "longshot" is gamblers' slang for "long odds", or "very unlikely"....r

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Skitt - 21 Jan 2004 19:56 GMT

> nick filted:

>> What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?
>
> A "longshot" is gamblers' slang for "long odds", or "very
> unlikely"....r

MWCD10:
Main Entry: long shot
Pronunciation: 'lo[ng]-"shät
Function: noun
Date: 1867
1 : a venture involving great risk but promising a great reward if
successful; also : a venture unlikely to succeed
2 : an entry (as in a horse race) given little chance of winning
3 : a bet in which the chances of winning are slight but the possible
winnings great
- by a long shot : by a great deal

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Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

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John Dean - 22 Jan 2004 01:21 GMT

> What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?

Seems to have originated with the gunners - a 'long shot' is precisely
that - a shot at long range which therefore has only a small chance of
hitting the target. Thence to the bookmakers...
--
John Dean
Oxford
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Donna Richoux - 22 Jan 2004 09:48 GMT

> > What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?
>
> Seems to have originated with the gunners - a 'long shot' is precisely
> that - a shot at long range which therefore has only a small chance of
> hitting the target. Thence to the bookmakers...
> --

Couldn't it be from archers? Targets, shots, long.

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Curious -- Donna Richoux

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John Dean - 22 Jan 2004 12:44 GMT

>>> What does 'Not by a long shot' mean and how it came about?
>>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>> --
> Couldn't it be from archers? Targets, shots, long.

Could be. cf 'draw the long bow'.
But OED's earliest cite is : << 1791 Hist. 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. >>
--
John Dean
Oxford
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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

Not by a long shot