今天的习语里面虽然有shot这个单词，shot确实有开枪射击的意思，但是“a shot in the dark”在生活中却跟黑暗中射击没什么关系，而是用来表达另外一层意思的，那我们来听听这个习语到底是怎么用的呢？

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. Our idiom for today is: a shot in the dark. It means that you are taking a guess or making an estimate that could be wrong or an attempt with very little chance of success. You can use it like this:

It was just a shot in the dark. / I’m gonna take a shot in the dark.

C: No one can see in the dark. So if you are shooting in the dark, you are just taking a chance but you are not sure if you will hit the target or not. Some people like to buy lottery tickets. There is a very slim chance that they will win some money but they can never be sure of it. So buying the lottery ticket can be a shot in the dark. Maybe you are taking an exam and there is a question that you don’t really know anything about. So you decide to take a shot in the dark because it’s better to not leave it empty. At least this way you will have a chance of getting it right. So now let’s use it in a conversation:

 

 
J: Wow Jim, my laptop works great now. I didn’t know you were good at fixing computers.
 
C: Yeah well, it was just a shot in the dark. I actually had no idea it would work.
 

 

J: Don’t take a shot in the dark with your English though. Make sure you are practicing with these idioms everyday.
 
C: And remember to share our channel with people you know! Talk to you next time! Bye!