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last-ditch attempt

last-ditch attempt

3 5.8
A final effort you make when nothing else works
  • noun
translation icon : último recurso
  • Spain's Banco Popular offered a steeper-than-expected discount on a 2.5-billion-euro ($3.2 billion) new share issue in a last-ditch attempt to avoid the need for European aid to shore up its finances.

That's just merely him in a last ditch attempt.

Examples

  • Hungary stunned the markets by raising rates 3% to 11.5% in a last-ditch attempt to defend the forint's currency peg in the ERM.

    Blog text (24)

  • As Mrs. Thatcher leaves Paris for London to make her last-ditch attempt to pull together support for her leadership, the ship may have sailed.

    The Iron Lady (2011)

  • The meeting was a last-ditch attempt to bring the legal battle between the two companies to a conclusion before closing arguments start tomorrow.

    Blog text (28)

  • This was the last ditch attempt to just make it all go away, and historians now agree that Dreyfus was, from the beginning completely innocent.

  • The FBI has defended the power shut off as a last ditch attempt to bring Mr. Nields to a peaceful surrender.

    The Junior Defenders (2007)

  • Chavez threw those flurries because it was a last-ditch attempt; he was clearly gassed out, and this was his last bit of energy.

    Blog text (22)

  • Bringing Lara to the restaurant was a last-ditch attempt to smoke out Meredith's feelings, to see if she still cared despite the way he'd hurt her.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I see a really close contest, but Romney's last-ditch attempt to jump into PA, MI, and MN now smacks of pure desperation.

    Blog text (27)

  • King Sihanouk made a last-ditch attempt to mediate the differences between the adversaries, but Hun Sen refused, stating, "It is too late and it is not necessary."

    Academic text (2002)

  • The team made a last-ditch attempt to win the championship by changing their strategy in the final minutes.

Synonyms

Hail Mary
vslast-ditch attempt
  • Informal
14 8.2

A last, desperate attempt made when nothing else works

is the general term rather than a specific idiom
last stand
vslast-ditch attempt
14 6.1

A final strong effort to resist a change or attack when defeat seems near

is about a final attempt to achieve something rather than defending
desperate measure
vslast-ditch attempt
14 5.7

An extreme action you take when all other options fail

is a specific final attempt to achieve a goal rather than a drastic action
last gasp
vslast-ditch attempt
  • Informal
7 6.3

A final effort before something ends or fails

focuses on a desperate attempt rather than simply the final moment
last-gasp effort
vslast-ditch attempt
1 6.4

A final desperate try to succeed when success seems unlikely

is used for any final desperate effort after all other attempts fail
forlorn hope
vslast-ditch attempt
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A risky attempt that is very unlikely to succeed

is focused on a final desperate effort when other options have failed
eleventh-hour effort
vslast-ditch attempt
4.8

A last-minute attempt to finish something before time runs out

emphasizes urgency of timing rather than desperation after many failures

How Desperate

last-ditch attempt
3 5.8
effort
∞ 1.0
attempt
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

last-ditch attempt singular
last-ditch attempts plural

Morphology

last-ditch + attempt

The element 'last' (final) plus 'attempt' (an act of trying) makes the idea of a final try somewhat inferable, but the 'ditch' component is a historical/metaphorical cue (as in 'last-ditch defence') that does not transparently signal desperation to learners who only know the literal meaning 'ditch'. Therefore the full sense 'a final and desperate effort' is only partially predictable from the parts and likely needs prior exposure for B1 learners.

Etymology

Last-ditch attempt may come from a picture from war: when soldiers fell back to the last ditch, the final trench or hole, and made one last, desperate stand. That's why it now means 'a final and desperate effort'.