last-ditch

• last ditch

Popularized and given its current sense through an 1847 translation by Agnes Strickland of a quote attributed to William of Orange during the French invasion of 1672 on his being advised to surrender Holland to Louis XIV: "No, I mean to die in the last ditch."

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last-ditch

1. (idiomatic) Final, as a last resort; done in desperation.

   a last-ditch attack

   He sent flowers in a last-ditch effort to keep her from leaving.

   • 2011 January 15, Sam Sheringham, “Chelsea 4 - 3 Blackburn Rovers”, in BBC‎:

     Only a last-ditch tackle from Michel Salgado denied Didier Drogba after a clever through-ball from Anelka and, from the resulting corner, Ivanovic flicked the ball on for Ramires, who lashed a half-volley against the bar.

   • 2022 June 29, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Strikes set to escalate as RMT issues rallying call”, in RAIL, number 960, page 6:

     That's the warning from RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, who has predicted that industrial action could soon spill over into other sectors of the economy, following the failure of last-ditch talks to avert the largest rail strike since 1989.

Often in the phrase last-ditch attempt or last-ditch effort.

• last-ditcher

• die in the last ditch

• Hail Mary pass
• last-gasp

• “last-ditch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.