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Glite Dictionary
to plug and pray

to plug and pray

8.5
To connect a device and hope it works
  • idiom
  • Jargon
translation icon : conectar y esperar
  • After installing the new driver, all I could do was plug and pray that my printer would work.

Examples

  • The technician laughed and said, "Just plug and pray—maybe this time it will start."

  • Sometimes setting up a network at home is just a matter of plug and pray.

  • Don't plug and pray!

  • He plugged and prayed that the printer would work.

  • After installing the new driver, all I could do was plug and pray that my printer would work.

  • Setting up my new computer was a simple plug and pray situation; I just hoped everything would function well.

  • When the power went out during the storm, we had to plug and pray that the backup generator would kick in.

Antonyms

to configure
47 5.2

To change the settings of a device like a computer for a specific use

How Confident

to ensure
910 2.8
to verify
251 3.5
test
∞ 1.0
to plug and pray
  • Jargon
8.5

Surface Forms

plug and pray infinitive
plugged and prayed past
plugged and prayed past participle
plugging and praying present participle
plugs and prays third person singular

Morphology

plug + and + pray

The meaning 'connect a device and hope it works' is directly suggested by composing 'plug' (connect) with 'pray' (ask/hope), and the conjunction 'and' signals sequence, so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer the basic sense. However, the phrase is a humorous/punny extension (contrast with 'plug and play') and relies on pragmatic knowledge and tone, so the exact idiomatic nuance may not be fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Plug and pray plays on the idea of plug, meaning to connect a device, and pray, meaning to ask for help. It may come from the common scene of plugging in new equipment and then just 'hoping' it will work, so the phrase means 'connect or set up something and hope it works'.