the.com/long shot
The bet where odds laugh at you and history occasionally laughs back.
means An attempt or wager with very little chance of success, but a big payoff if it somehow works.
from Born from gunnery and marksmanship: a shot fired from a long distance was far less likely to hit its mark, since muskets and early cannon lost accuracy badly with range. By the 19th century the phrase had drifted from battlefields and shooting ranges into betting talk, where a 'long shot' became any wager with slim odds — the kind you only take when the prize is worth the near-certain miss.
- Origin
- Old cannons missed badly at distance, hence the term.
- Film term
- A long shot frames subjects tiny and far away.
- Payout logic
- Lower odds mean bigger reward when reality blinks.
- Underdog fuel
- Most legends started as somebody's hopeless wager.
leicester city 2015-16 — won premier league at 5000-1 odds, the greatest upset in sports history
jesse owens 1936 — black american won 4 gold medals at nazi berlin olympics despite hitler's ideology