"on a wing and a prayer" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Describes a damaged warplane barely able to return to base, possibly originating in the film Flying Tigers (1942) in which the dialog refers to a flight as “coming in on one wing and a prayer”, made popular by the World War II song “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer” with lyrics by Harold Adamson.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on a wing and a prayer",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on a wing and a prayer",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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        {
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
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        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After seeing half the senior staff walk out, the school opened the new year on a wing and a prayer.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "With the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_a_wing_and_a_prayer-en-prep_phrase-m2oYBHoH",
      "links": [
        [
          "avert",
          "avert"
        ],
        [
          "disaster",
          "disaster"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "on a whim and a prayer"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na čestnom slove i na odnom kryle",
          "sense": "with the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure",
          "word": "на честном слове и на одном крыле"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer",
        "Harold Adamson"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "on a wing and a prayer"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Describes a damaged warplane barely able to return to base, possibly originating in the film Flying Tigers (1942) in which the dialog refers to a flight as “coming in on one wing and a prayer”, made popular by the World War II song “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer” with lyrics by Harold Adamson.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on a wing and a prayer",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on a wing and a prayer",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Russian translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After seeing half the senior staff walk out, the school opened the new year on a wing and a prayer.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "With the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "avert",
          "avert"
        ],
        [
          "disaster",
          "disaster"
        ]
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer",
        "Harold Adamson"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "on a whim and a prayer"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na čestnom slove i na odnom kryle",
      "sense": "with the hope of averting disaster despite a desperate situation teetering on failure",
      "word": "на честном слове и на одном крыле"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on a wing and a prayer"
}