Hail Mary pass

From Hail Mary, a prayer for intercession, from Latin Ave Maria, plus pass (“moving the ball from one player to another”). Attested from the 1970s in the context of American football.

Hail Mary pass (plural Hail Mary passes)

1. (American football) A long forward pass with little chance of completion, typically used by the losing team when time is running out and no other play is practical, in a desperate attempt to score the winning points.
   • 1983, “A Run for the Roses”, in Michigan Ensian‎, page 120:

     With 11:04 left in the game, and a comfortable 38–14 lead, Smith heaved a 62-yard, Hail Mary pass to Carter.

   • 1990, Michael Teitelbaum, Play Book! Football, →OCLC, page 35:

     Maybe I should just toss up a “Hail Mary” pass deep into their territory, as though I was saying a prayer that one of our players would catch it.

2. (by extension) An act done in desperation, with only a very small chance of success.
   • 2010 September 11, Mark Mazzetti, “As Time Passes, the Goals in Afghanistan Shrink”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Some liken that offensive to a “Hail Mary” pass, with the Taliban still entrenched throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan and a program to persuade Talib soldiers to lay down arms and be “reintegrated” into Afghan society having achieved little so far.

• forlorn hope (military)
• hospital pass

• “Hail Mary, phr. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.